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Out of the 3 main resolutions I outlined on the last day of 2012. I've failed in one, done about what I was wanting with the second and I've been exceeding my expectations in the third.
Fail so far: Cooking.
I found I simply am not interested in investing the time in learning this at the moment. To actually do things right I was really going to have to put some extra time in places I wasn't interested. I already have basic skills to cook a weeks worth of healthy meals for myself which gets me by fine. I've been working pretty hard at keeping a relatively simple diet in general (mainly in order to help improve my running) so in some ways this goal felt like a clash in two ways, one it would take away time I could be spending elsewhere and two it would go against where I wanted to take my diet- which is loosely based as follows; as little processed stuff as possible, way more fruits/vegetables and more raw foods in general, less amounts of bready or excess useless carb foods that contain way too much carbs which turns right into sugar->fat. Pretty open ended sure but it's been doing very well for me as I've cut out almost all fast food+soda, alcohol consumption has been minimal. My sister is a type 1 diabetic and actually I've been dieting sort of like I have diabetes (watching sugar levels on foods closely) which has been working amazing for me so far, I literally feel healthier than I ever have at any point in the past in my life, can't even really describe it. Keeping blood sugar levels more normalized throughout a day (and drinking plenty of water) makes a big difference in the long run probably for just about anyone.
Going good: Reconnecting with past friends
I've done well here. Already reached out to a few people and as I expected they were happy to hear from me. I feel sometimes people let relationships die off or say things like "I'm the one always calling or emailing them, let them start calling/emailing me!" and then stop talking and both sides just drift. Also I had one major unexpected development occur, literally one of my best friends from childhood (imagine best friend from elementary school days) randomly contacted me telling me he recently moved less than 2 hours away from me now. (I thought he was still in Chicago) so I'll be seeing him in the next couple weeks or so which is going to be amazing. Literally haven't seen the guy in probably 10 years when I moved to DC after being best friends growing up. Was one of those situations where I moved far away and then he moved far away elsewhere so whenever I visited friends back home he was gone, and then he went to school in Chicago and I went to school in VA. We still spoke occasionally over the years but definitely grew distant for whatever reason even though we shared alot in common.
Going great: Running.
a year ago at this time I could hardly run a single lap on a track without dying. This morning I ran a solid 10 mile route through DC at a decent clip. Last week I ran a 5k in training at just over 21 minutes which I was really proud of(need to do that in race though!) I'm down almost to my ideal weight, down 22 pounds of fat down from last October and I'm about a month out from a half marathon, the longest race I'll ever have run in to date.
I've been improving faster than I expected actually with my running/training which has been really encouraging. I'm nowhere near as good as some of the guys over in The Running Thread (YPang qualifying for the Boston Marathon recently, other guys running 5k's in 18 minutes or faster, L_Master posting videos of him running at 4:40 pace in jeans on a treadmill as if it's nothing etc.) but to be honest I'm just making fun of all of that because at the end of the day running is all about YOU and your personal goals. Everyone runs for a different reason with different goals. I have much more respect for the guy who can get off his ass and train to start running for the first time in his life than people who have lived it all their life. Running is all about your own goals which is part of what makes it so awesome. Plus everyone really treats everyone equally, there's no difference between a guy who's running a 6 minute mile vs a guy who's running a 12 minute mile if at the end of the day they accomplish what they set out to accomplish. People who are really into fitness in general are just generally very happy people too which is really nice.
I've been seeing parts of the city I never would have seen otherwise and I can't even describe how amazing it feels to be able to get up, get out there and go for a solid long run. I used to get on a treadmill and be happy that I could go for 10 minutes. Now I can go significantly faster than ever for an hour and a half and it seems almost unreal.
I managed to snag a spot in the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in October. I'm still daunted with what my summer is going to look like. I'll be sacrificing quite a bit in order to get my weekly mileage up there and still fit in my usual workouts. Plus I don't have much space built in case of any injuries or setbacks. I'll be running at least 6-7 hours a week (40+ miles/week at least) and that's not including any other ab workouts or cross training. I've been hopping on a bike after runs or on off days lately and it's been really good. It's literally going to be a part time job in addition to my normal job....
anyway that about sums up where I've gotten to after about a third through 2013. Here's to the last 2/3'rds being as successful as these past months have been.
P.S Yes running and fitness goals in general have all but entirely replaced anything and everything I used to do gaming wise. People ask me what I do with my time instead of play sc2, it's this. They respond with "sucks" which I'm not sure how to respond because I'm happier than ever. I guess it sucks for them if for whatever reason they used to like watching me play sc2. LOL :D
 
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Do you mind sharing some of the 'weeks worth of healthy meals?' I feel like I'm in a similar boat, of wanting to eat better, but not willing to be chopping things for 1 hour and oven roasting it.
Enjoyed the blog.
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The friends part of this blog was really heartwarming dude, I really enjoyed reading that  .
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On April 14 2013 17:13 husniack wrote:
Do you mind sharing some of the 'weeks worth of healthy meals?' I feel like I'm in a similar boat, of wanting to eat better, but not willing to be chopping things for 1 hour and oven roasting it.
Enjoyed the blog.
Well at some point you have to be willing to spend 1-2 hours preparing things. I try to do as much as possible on Sunday and then just heat stuff up throughout the week. Stuff I can do decently now is salmon and rice, sweet and sour chicken, veggie stir fry, a couple different soups and salads. (I can send you recipes if you want) I try to experiment around with some new stuff every now and then but I'm really not a picky eater and probably could eat the same 5-6 meals throughout a week without any issues. I know some people get bored or need more variety but I don't really care. I mean hell half the time when I get back from a workout even at night I cook up some turkey omelette or something that's going to be loaded with protein.
On the weekends my diet sometimes goes to shit depending on who I'm with or where I'm going...I make exceptions and stuff but at some point I might have to stop that. also I still probably buy too much pre-packaged stuff but at some point I do it purely out of convenience. There are some good health food stores in my area that sell pretty good pre-packaged stuff that is very easy to prepare and also isn't super unhealthy crap. Places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's sell stuff without MSG/processed crap +preservatives which are all the real killers in the long run.
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You can do it fou!!! If a scrub like me can do it then i know you can son! In january i could barely run 2 miles at a weak pace, now im up to almost 6 miles at 5.3 on the treadmill, not super fast but still fairly impressive to say the least. I have been doing some cooking, its really hard to find time for that stuff with an "adult schedule" and i imagine if i had a wife and kids it would be impossible. I don't eat super healthy by any stretch but i do make sure not to over eat and cut out most of the unhealthy stuff. For dinners i make a bunch of chicken breasts and some broccoli or some other steamed vegetable, and i cook up some kind of filler like brown rice or pasta. After a long days work the last thing you wanna do is cook, especially after you just got done running 5+ miles. None the less enough about me, good luck and stay strong, If ya put in a lot of hard work and tough it out on the other side is success son!
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Awesome read, man. Good to see you sticking to running. I'm doing some running myself too. I know how great it feels. I got my first half-marathon in about a month. I hope I can manage. As for cooking don't give up easly.
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cooking imba ^^
glad to hear youre meeting up with old friends, it seems kinda sad to lose people over time.
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I've been seeing parts of the city I never would have seen otherwise and I can't even describe how amazing it feels to be able to get up, get out there and go for a solid long run. I used to get on a treadmill and be happy that I could go for 10 minutes. Now I can go significantly faster than ever for an hour and a half and it seems almost unreal.
Yea, that's one of the coolest things about running. It really is fun looking back and seeing how far you've come. I remember starting and struggling to run 5k @ 7:50 but now it's my recovery pace and running much slower than that actually feels awkward.
Running is all about your own goals which is part of what makes it so awesome. Plus everyone really treats everyone equally, there's no difference between a guy who's running a 6 minute mile vs a guy who's running a 12 minute mile if at the end of the day they accomplish what they set out to accomplish.
This is so true as well. Sure there is always "that" asshole that thumbs his nose at someone because he can run 20s a mile faster than them or whatever, but everyone out there is training for the same reason...to get better and to get healthier. The times might be different if you are trying to break 4 in the mile or break 10 in the mile...but the training and process of improvement is the same and the accomplishment equally as rewarding.
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South Africa43 Posts
Good job sir, my new resolution to swim my butt off is working well. I've lost 8 kilogrammes in as many weeks and am starting to look more and more like Arnold.
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You could cook at the next StorrBQ
you could prepare a meal, bring anything you need to cook and then cook it at storrs house.
It doesnt even have to be like a full meal, you could cook sides to storrs kebabs
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Cooking can be a pain some times. Some lazy dishes I like:
Throw pork/chicken in pot with a little water and kale/collard greens, sprinkle with rock salt. Boil then lower to simmer and leave covered for 1-3 hours depending on meat cut. If you want any other vegetables inside, throw them in 30 minutes before eating.
Cold tofu with shoyu, kim chee and rice. Grate fresh ginger on top the tofu if not too lazy.
Baked sweet potato. Just throw it in oven 400 degrees for 1 hour. Make sure to have something underneath to catch the sap that comes out. Super healthy, pair it with whatever you want. Try the purple and orange ones, they taste completely different.
Keep a bunch of hardboiled eggs on hand.
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about cooking - mothra has some good advice, especially with the pork/chicken + veggies in a pot. it's really convenient - you just throw everything in a pot and let it sit there. it's also easy - you really don't need great cooking skills to make this. not to mention healthy.
other ideas that are easy and healthy, so you don't have to spend more time on learning.
- tuna + olive oil + spring mix or spinach (ok you dont even need to cook this lol)
- eggs fried in butter, throw in some peppers, onions, or greens
- avocado, turkey (just buy some cooked turkey, no sodium if possible, and not the deli crap), with tomatoes and romaine lettuce, a bit of balsalmic vinegarette
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5k in just over 21 mins? That's pretty sick man!! :D
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Glad you're doing well man, good luck with your half marathon!
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good job rob I just started running as an addition to weight lifting etc, im 200lb and my fastest 5k is 35 minutes LOL TT This makes me feel like a shit, I will strive to catch you~
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Glad to hear everything is going well with the running! I've started helping out a family friend by walking their two dogs everyday which is helping me keep active but i'm having a hard time motivating myself to actually go and work out :/ Any motivational tips for working out or pushing yourself to run??
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For me personally I set goals for myself and then turn into an adventure. I couldn't just get up and go running with no purpose, so at first I set out to get in better shape than I was in early college, and then eventually run in some long distance races. When I'm powering through a workout I just keep the end goals in mind.
This might sound stupid but I've applied lots of the same principles I applied when I was learning broodwar competitively with much success...down to watching vids of pro runners and what they do/eat on an average day and try to incorporate in my daily life as much as possible. And hanging around people who are much better than me. It totally reminds me of watching old reps of progamers and finding the pro channels to hang out in, only on a different scale.
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Hey Rob, we should run a 5k or 10k when I get back in late summer
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EPT
