Color Run

This past Saturday, I participated in the 2017 Baltimore Color Run 5K. It was kind of lame.

First off, I should say that I did not train for this event. I knew it was coming and I always meant to run after work or on Saturdays, but I never got around to it. When the day of the run came, I was ill-prepared, but I still went through with it anyway.

For those unacquainted with the concept of a color run, it's like any other distance running event (in this case, a 5K), but runners are hit with colored chalk powder throughout the run. What does the addition of color offer that more mundane runs lack? As far as I can tell, just dirty clothes.

One of Leah's best friends, Rachel, wanted to participate in the run, but didn't want to do it alone, so Leah was roped in. After finding out that to register as a team they needed at least four members, I was roped in. I thought that color runs sounded completely stupid, but having not yet experienced one firsthand, I decided to be scientific about it and find out for myself.

It turns out they aren't as stupid as I thought. Perhaps a better way to put it is to say that color runs aren't for me, though I can see why other people might like them. The whole event was about having fun and being happy. Lots of participants wore rainbow-colored wigs, tutus, bandanas, and other clothing and entire families ran together. Throughout the run were signs reminding us to be happy. There was such an emphasis on it being fun that the event was not timed, though I did use an app to track my progress.

So, why didn't I care for the color run? Mostly because it added a lot unnecessary elements to something I already enjoy, so the main thing is obscured. Think of it like a bar of chocolate: if you add a few more ingredients like caramel and nougat, it can compliment the chocolate, but if you add too many ingredients like nuts, marzipan, and orange oil, it can hide what was originally the main attraction.

Not only that, but they only hit us with colored chalk powder four times, which seems too few times for something that's in the name. Yes, I realize that I'm complaining about not having enough of a thing that I didn't even like.

In the end, it was a new experience and it helped to start me exercising regularly again. I don't think I want to do another color run, but another regular 5K sounds like fun.

Our team (Holly, Rachel, me, and Leah) showing off our matching t-shirts, headbands, and temporary tattoos

After the running was over, we were given extra bags of powdered chalk to throw at each other

Team selfie with Holly's friend Lindsay

Any excuse to kiss this woman

Taper

I’ve been continuing to taper off of Trileptal and I keep feeling better. I walked during my lunch break three days this week and I’ve gone to the gym three days, too. However, I may be pushing myself a little too hard, at least at this time: I’m so excited to be healthy enough to exercise again that I’m kind of jumping in headfirst. Most of my muscles are sore and I’ve been having trouble sleeping, which has made it hard to be productive at work.

All of this fatigue is just a part of my body getting used to being active again and will pass with time. Plus, I’d rather be tired from too much exercise than because my medication is making me sick.

One thing that hasn’t changed? The severity of my allergies, as I still can’t wear my contacts for more than a few hours at a time. Still, I’d much rather be forced to wear glasses and be able to exercise than have the convenience of contacts again.

Fully Stocked

My current workout routine has me doing heavy weight in order to bulk up.  Lifting weights, however, is only one part of getting bigger: I also have to eat a lot of protein.  And since I want to bulk up without getting fat, I have to cut carbs and fat from my diet to make room for the extra protein.  If that wasn't complicated enough, I won't allow myself to eat meat more than once a day in order to better obey the Word of Wisdom.

In order to simplify things, I decided to buy and cook a bunch of chicken breasts, freeze them, and defrost and reheat them as needed.  How much is "a bunch" of chicken breasts?  A dozen.  I had so much meat that I needed to buy a second baking pan to cook it all at once.  After it was all cooked, I chopped it all up and used my new kitchen scale (that I got last week) to make five ounce portions (which constitutes about one sixth of my daily protein needs).  When it was all over, I had twenty portions.  All but one went in the freezer; the final one went in the fridge to be used this evening.

The whole process took much longer than I anticipated, but at least I can rest easy knowing that I won't have to cook any more meat for nearly two weeks.

Finding a New Routine

I joined a new gym today.  It's not the nicest gym that I looked at, but it has what I need and it's close to my apartment which will make it harder to excuse myself from going.  Plus, after I used a one-day free pass to try it out, I said a quick prayer and received confirmation that this was my new gym.

Too bad it has a dumb name: Spunk Fitness.  That said, if my biggest complaint is that the name of the place is stupid, I'm doing pretty well.  Plus, by going to a gym rather than working out at home, I can push myself harder with professional-grade equipment.

The biggest benefit, of course, is that I'm already starting to feel my mood level out.  Not working out has made it easy for my anxiety and depression to return, which has made it hard to function.  With my new gym membership, I can regain control of that aspect of my life.

But seriously, Spunk?  What is this, the 1940s?

Sweat it Out

After serving as a feast for the mosquitoes on Friday and Saturday, I went to work on Monday as an itchy, uncomfortable mess.  And since I got bit on both ankles, every time I moved my feet, my shoes rubbed against a bite.  It was so bad that on my lunch break, I went to the store to pick up some anti-itch cream, which only helped a little.

Frustrated, I decided to go for a run after work to sweat out the allergens -- which is actually not possible.  It's a commonly held myth that you can sweat out toxins, like from poison ivy or alcohol, but since the liver processes toxins, sweating more won't squeeze the bad stuff out the body.  So saunas are out, but exercise is different because it increases blood flow, forcing your blood to move through your body, including through you liver, meaning any processing will happen faster.

So I covered my exposed limbs with bug repellent and I ran.  I ran nearly 7 1/2 miles, despite the over 80 degree weather.  For the first couple of miles, I thought I would have to stop because the itching was driving me crazy.  But I kept running and the itching subsided and I eventually made it back home.  After a desperately needed shower, I looked at my bites.  Amazingly, the redness and swelling had gone down on every bite.  By the next day, I was only barely aware of the bites that covered my right leg.

I don't know if my understanding about why going on a run helped my bug bites is right or not, but the results are clear enough that I know what I'm doing the next time I'm dealing with itchy mosquito bites.

Barking Dogs

Here's something to not try: run 7 ½ on a Saturday morning and then offer your help to a friend who has you mow his rather large lawn.  I know, I know: it seems like a fine plan, but if you try it out, you'll barely be able to stand by the end of the incredibly long day.

Thank goodness Sunday is the day of rest.

Skinny Slacks

For the last two months, I've been running hard at the gym and eating as little food as I could stand, but you already knew that.  What you didn't know was that it all paid off.

One of the big reasons that I was working so hard to drop some weight was that I was preparing for a health assessment at work (that I recently completed).  It was pretty basic with a simple blood test to check my cholesterol levels (all better than average) and measuring my BMI.  If I was determined to be healthy by the nurse that took my vitals, I would be given a discount on my health insurance premiums.  Now, a BMI of 25 is considered overweight and my recorded BMI was 26, but even if I had had a 29, I'd still be considered "healthy."  And just so you know, for me to be considered a healthy weight according to BMI, at 6' 1" I can't weigh more than 188 lbs, which is a bit ridiculous.

The other reason that I was working on losing some weight was that I was embarrassed when I started working again.  My business clothes were bought for a smaller-sized Jordan, so they were tighter than I'd like.  In fact, I couldn't even fasten one pair of slacks because I was too large.  I don't think of myself as vain, but it's tough to literally be too big for your britches.

Well, yesterday I decided to give those pants a try again.  As you can probably guess, they fit.  It wasn't a terribly exciting achievement, but it was satisfying.  Now, they were still a bit more form-fitting than when I bought them, but I could button them without causing myself physical discomfort, so I'm counting it as a win.

Illness Factors

I just got over being sick, but now I'm sick again.  I think my body's immune system is compromised due to a few factors:

Stress.  As I learned on Sunday (and posted about on Monday), you can't get divorced without some tears, so I think it's safe to say I'm experiencing higher-than-average levels of stress.  Additionally, I've recently been give more responsibility at work, which is a positive thing that I like, but it does mean my stress is higher.

Not enough sleep.  I've had insomnia since Allison and got separated.  It's hard for me to "power down" in an empty bed and I've caught myself reading much later than I should be, often after I've lied in bed for nearly an hour, unable to sleep.  I'm trying some new things in an attempt to fix that.

Not enough calories.  When I'm unemployed, I get fat.  In an attempt to rid myself of my kummerspeck, I've seriously cut back on what I eat.  It means that I'm often hungry, but I lost about fifteen pounds, so it worked.  That said, I may have overdone it.

Pushing myself too hard at the gym.  I was serious about trimming down, so on top of cutting back on what I ate, I ran.  A lot.  I have written about how I enjoy running in my neighborhood, but with so much snow of late, it was safer running indoors.  And running on a treadmill meant that I could control the speed I was running, so I devised a plan where I would sprint at 12 mph for thirty seconds and then jog at about half that speed for four minutes.  I would then run this circuit for an hour straight, sometimes pushing the sprinting time to a full minute.

One or two of these factors probably wouldn't have affected me too badly, but all four?  I'm lucky I can still make it to work.  I am making adjustments to my lifestyle to avoid making myself ill.

Shorties 6

Real Understanding
As a technical writer, I'm not expected to be an expert in the subject that I'm writing on but an expert writer and researcher.  I seek out the information I need and use it in such a way that the reader thinks I'm an expert.  I still have to have a basic understanding of the subject but that usually develops as I do the research. Yesterday at work, I finally started to "get" what I'm writing about, which is good since it's an instructional guide.  Up to this point, I've just been copying information from another document.  It's still early for me on this project but I'm really pleased that I've started to internalize the material.

Stress Reducer
When I wrote about my trials in getting a Maryland driver's license, my dad left a comment asking me what I can do to prevent something like that happening again.  I thought about his question a lot and realized that I was neglecting one of the four things that I need to do regularly to manage my anxiety.  I've been eating healthy, studying my scriptures daily, and (mostly) getting plenty of sleep, but I haven't been exercising like I should.  A lot of that is due to the bad weather we've had which would throw my entire routine off.  So, to better combat Mother Nature, I've decided to join a gym.  I've done a lot of research and found a decent gym for $10 a month, which is super reasonable even for me and my lean budget.  I even pass it coming home from work.  Since I haven't gotten paid yet, I probably won't start until next week, but I'm excited to be able to hit the gym again.

Roommate's Milestone
After Church on Sunday, Samuel went to visit a member of the ward who is unable to attend church and blessed the sacrament for the first time.  I didn't go, but Samuel came back beaming.  He told me how excited he was to have finally blessed the sacramental water and that he is eager to do it again.  (In case I haven't mentioned it, Samuel is a convert and is still very new to the gospel).

Vegetarian No More
Monday was the last day of my cleanse, which means I'm eating meat on a regular basis again.  I've certainly dropped the weight that I gained while unemployed and, I suspect, a little bit extra that I didn't need to lose.  I guess that means that I'll have to pack on the pounds by pumping iron.

"Now run!"
While I was visiting the Larsen's to celebrate my birthday, Henry and Clara showed me a new game that they've discovered.  It's the classic activity where a kid grabs an adult's leg and is dragged along while the adult walks.  However, walking got old and they started asking that I run.  Not that I would actually run, I did try to move a bit faster for them, though with little success.  As with countless uncles before me, I tired before they did.  Still, they were both super excited that we got to play together, which never gets old.

Running Update

I was starting to be better about running regularly again when it suddenly got ridiculously cold throughout most of the US.  With a week off due to the cold (I can only put on so many layers before running becomes difficult), I was afraid that I would slide back into my rut.  Which I did almost immediately by missing my run on Tuesday, the first day that wasn't freeze-the-blood-in-your-veins cold.  I really ran with much better consistency when I was employed.

So, to improve my exercise routine, I became employed.  It's nothing exciting, just a temp job for a few days working on inventory for a company that I had never heard of (that's actually the parent company of several brands I'm familiar with) that's dealing with flood damage after a pipe burst during the Great Chill of 2014.  However, in a surprising turn, my first day on the job (Wednesday) I did push-ups again and yesterday I went for a run.  Apparently, I need structure in my life to be healthy and productive.  I'm not shocked that having some structure again has improved things, just at how quickly the change happened.  I didn't even have to go to work - just get ready in preparation for it - to see immediate results in my well-being.

Also, since the holidays are behind us, I've finally started getting calls about the applications I've been putting in.  No interviews yet, but at least something is happening (I have been in contact with Prometric and it'll be a few weeks before they get their budget and they know when I can come back; I'd love to go back, but if something else comes up in the meantime, I'll take it).  I need a job so that I can get back to living a normal, healthy life (and get rid of my kummerspeck).  Hopefully I'll be able to report good news very soon.

Climbing the Corporate [Stairs]

The office building I work in has about 16 floor.  Not enough to count as a skyscraper, but certainly enough to be the tallest building in the area.  One cool thing is that it has high-speed elevators that rush you to your floor very quickly.  If you take the elevator.

Since Wednesday of last week, I've taken the stairs up to the thirteenth floor where I work.  It takes me about 4 1/2 minutes to make the trip and I'm always breathing heavily by the time I arrive, but I'm not sweating; it's an easy way to get some extra physical activity in my day.

While I was unemployed, I ate pretty poorly and I stopped exercising for a couple of weeks.  My pants don't fit quite as well as they did before I lost my job, but I'm not being caused physical pain by them (which did happen at one point, many years ago).  With the new job came a new desire to be healthy.

In addition to eating better, running a few evenings a week, and doing calisthenics in the morning, I've been walking up the stairs every morning.  It's a simple thing that helps me feel better.  Hopefully, I'll be back to my pre-unemployment level of fitness very soon.

Accomplishments

Last Friday was day of milestones for me.  I accomplished three things that I am rather proud of, so I'm going to show off a little.

The first thing is a fitness goal that I achieved.  As a way to help keep me in shape and to just keep me healthy, I do pushups in the mornings, two to three times a week.  I started back when I was still staying with the Larsens, but six weeks ago I started using an app for my Kindle that helps track my progress.  This is important since it helps to know how many I did last time and try to beat it the next time.  The app gives different choices for time periods to do each variation (standard, feet elevated, hand close together, hands elevated, etc.) and I've been doing each set for 45 seconds.  I started out doing 22 standard pushups and this last Friday, after doing pushups for six weeks, I was able to 45; better than double.  I still hope to continue to make progress, but being able to do a pushup a second is a nice accomplishment.

Last Friday was also the first time that I worked at the restaurant following a full day at the office.  Holy crap, I was tired.  I did my best to keep moving and to constantly try to learn more and more about the menu (it's really long), but I was out of energy.  It was the first time that I had to question whether I could actually work two jobs.  I'm not willing to say yea or nay on it yet, but I will have to be aware that sitting at a computer and using my brain to a high degree is exhausting on its own.  Add a physically demanding job right after and it doesn't make for an easy day.

Finally, the big one.  I've been working at RJM since the middle of May, or about three months.  During that time, I have tried very hard to learn the ins-and-outs of what I'm responsible for.  I've done okay, but I've made mistakes and forgotten things along the way, which is fine, but annoying.  Anyway, for every writing assignment, even with all of the practice that I've had, a lot of times I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing and it's really stressful to turn in an assignment to my supervisor for approval.  This last Friday, my boss actually seemed to be impressed with what I wrote.  Even if she was only impressed that I turned in good work when compared to my earlier attempts, that's fine.  I submitted a document for her approval and received it.  I'll count that as a win!

Friday was a day full of achievements for me, but I hope to only continue improve upon what I've done and to do even better.