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It’s been two months since I stopped hemming and hawing and started getting serious about fitness. In that time, I’ve only lost eight pounds, which is a little less than I’d hoped. But I don’t care. Though I still watch anxiously for the next pound to drop, my focus has shifted squarely to fitness.
Specifically, my single most important goal for this year is to run the Portland Marathon from start to finish. All other fitness goals are secondary. Yes, I’d like to lose weight, but that’s not the most important thing. Yes, I’d like to ride Cycle Oregon, but if I have to choose between that and the marathon (which may be the case), I’m choosing the marathon. Yes, I had hoped to stick closely to the Body for Life program for twelve weeks, but it’s interfering with the marathon — I’ve had to modify it. (And I intend to return to it, starting from day one, when the marathon is over in October.)
The real question in my mind, however, is how far have I come in the past two months? I’ve lost eight pounds, but where does my fitness level stand? I know I feel better, am more active, and am eating healthier foods. But what can I do to empirically compare now and then.
Aha! I can ride my bike.
On February 25th, I rode an 8.7 mile loop on nearby roads, completing the course in 36 minutes, 33 seconds. My average speed was 14.28 miles per hour. Out of curiosity, yesterday I got back in the saddle for the first time in ten weeks. This time I completed the same 8.7 miles in 32 minutes, 46 seconds, for an average speed of 15.82 miles per hour.
My fitness, it seems, has improved by three minutes, 37 seconds! Yes, it’s odd to measure fitness in this way, but I’m not sure how else to do it. I guess I could say that I’ve improved my fitness by eight miles. At the beginning of March, it was a struggle to run two miles. Last Saturday, I ran ten.
If only I were measuring my VO2max…
Mac
15 responses so far ↓
1 Joe // May 6, 2008 at 9:12 am
Awesome.
Very encouraging.
2 macdaddy // May 6, 2008 at 9:26 am
Here’s how I measure my fitness:
1)How are my clothes fitting this week?
2)How do my workouts feel this week? Are they easier or harder than the previous week’s?
3)What’s my average heart rate for 30 minutes at 6.0 mph on the treadmill?
4)How often does my wife say, “Jeez that shirt’s too big for you too!”
5)What does the scale say?
3 Andrew is getting fit // May 6, 2008 at 9:51 am
I’m with macdaddy. I do everything that he does, including the wife questioning me!
4 JosephG // May 6, 2008 at 9:55 am
Nice work!
You have a net weight loss of 8 pounds. Considering your weight lifting regime, you have probably lost more than 8 pounds of fat while adding a few pounds of muscle.
5 Anne Keckler, Personal Trainer // May 6, 2008 at 10:08 am
You wrote:
my focus has shifted squarely to fitness.
Specifically, my single most important goal for this year is to run the Portland Marathon from start to finish.
While that’s a fine goal, and goals are always very personal, I do want to point out that long-distance running is not really synonymous with fitness.
6 Red // May 6, 2008 at 10:33 am
I’d really like a more exact method of fitness though, body fat percentage is attractive, though I don’t know how accurate the scales are that measure it.
7 Billy // May 6, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Good luck with your goal of running the Portland Marathon! I’ve been thinking about doing the Seattle to Portland bike ride.
8 Kym // May 6, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I have found that my cardio workouts progressively get harder to do. I’ve been doing the same cardio routine for about 2 months (elliptical, 6 incline, 6 resistance) and while my heartrate and breathing have gotten better, it’s harder and harder on my legs at the same level. Not sure what that means, really, so I also find it hard to measure my level of fitness (though the heartrate and breathing are good indicators).
9 Eden // May 6, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Very cool!
I’ve ‘hit the wall’ a bit with my weight loss, but I do know that my fitness is improving. The same exercises I was doing at the beginning are much easier to do now, so I know that I am at least continuing to progress.
Keep up the good work!
10 greenman2001 // May 6, 2008 at 6:15 pm
You and Mac are both losing an average of a pound a week, and you’re both disappointed. I’m mystified by this. If you motivate yourself by rate of change, then when you achieve your target weight and all change stops — you maintain your weight and keep working out 6 days a week for the next 40 years — how do you plan to motivate yourself?
A one pound per week weight loss is a complete, 100% success. You are succeeding perfectly. You’ve increased your activity level from zero to 6 days a week of vigorous exercise. This is what success looks like. What do YOU think it looks like? At what point will you say, “I’m fit.”
You’re on a 40 year journey. Try to enjoy it.
I’m gratified to see you being flexible about some of these goals. (I’m in agreement with Anne about the reasoning flaw in equating running a marathon with being fit — remember Jim Fixx?)You’re bucking some real cultural pressures in doing so, and it’s a sign of healthy thinking. You are skilled at paying attention to how you’re feeling, and that awareness is one of the best tools you’ve got in your pursuit of fitness. Excellent progress, JD.
11 Pam // May 6, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Distance running may not be synonymous with fitness, but I’d say it is a hell of a good start! And I think just about any group of runners you put together is significantly more fit than a group of average Americans!
I don’t think the example of Jim Fixx is a good one at all: yes, he died of a heart attack, but he spent much of his life as a massively obese individual, was a heavy smoker, and had a horrendous family history of heart disease. In fact, his dad had his first heart attack at age 35, so you could say that running added an extra 17 years to his life - not too shabby!
12 Brooklynchick // May 7, 2008 at 3:25 am
Well done!!! In WW, they often tell us that losing about 1-2 pounds/week is sustainable. Eight pounds in eight weeks means you’re right on track!!!!
13 Brigid // May 7, 2008 at 4:59 am
What’s this ” I only lost 8 pounds” stuff. Why the use of “only”? This is a called “Get fit slowly” right? If you guys dug in and did all those freakish things like they do in “The Biggest Loser”, you’d be losing weight hand over fist but is that the message you want to convey? How about the person who lost four pounds over the last two months. Does that mean thay have achieved nothing or close to it? I’m sure that’s not what you are trying to say, but you are unintentionally coming close to it.
Ultimately it’s not the pounds you lose but the pounds you keep off. Great job both of you!!
14 Mark // May 8, 2008 at 5:55 am
You are doing great! I think that your focus on the marathon will help you become more fit, faster. You are motivated and that is the most important part. I say concentrate on the marathon and add in some weights/bike riding, etc. when you feel like it. As long as you are monitoring your calories in vs. calories out you should continue to lose weight and get more fit.
One suggestion, if you are not training using heart rate, consider starting. Once you get used to using the HRM you will be better able to vary the intensity of your workouts and get more benefit from them in the same amount of time.
Keep up the good work!
15 Jenny // May 10, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Sorry if you’ve already addressed this elsewhere, but could you recommend a way to record goals that you’ve set and met? I’ve looked around at a few websites like sparkpeople.com without being totally satisfied. Any suggestions? Thanks, and congrats on your progress!
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