I have not done any kind of fitness challenge in awhile.
And since fitness challenges are one of the few things that keep me from abandoning livejournal altogether, I figure I'll do one. So lately, I've become sort of jaded with the ultramarathon thing. The sport has gotten to the point where really elite athletes are doing it, and while I think I could hold my own in competition with them if I loved running enough, I don't love running enough. Well, not enough to do it 3-4 hours per day on top of weight training and a restrictive diet, which, when you factor in the amount of exercise that is, adds up to just about a full-time job's worth of stuff.
So, running is not my job, and I don't think I'd want it to be. I like too many things (including my actual jobs) too much to focus on being a full-time athlete (not that this is even a financial option, anyway, so I'm speaking hypothetically). Plus, to be honest, I do not fit in with them. Ultrarunners, I mean. There is almost this weird, clique-feeling to it. I always hate the first 15-20 miles of a race, because I'm stuck in the midst of a bunch of people talking about all the other ultramarathons they've done and smarmily comparing their experiences in a way that comes off as sort of subdued bragging. Not even necessarily bragging about athletic prowess, just being in them. Like it moves you up a notch in that social group if you've "done Badwater" or "done Hardrock." It is hard to explain, because all of the people are really, really nice. In fact, I'm probably in the 99th percentile of jerks, there, if we looked at it statistically. It's just this undertone of yuppiness or something. I don't like it.
And the races get more and more crowded every year, so my original reasons for doing them - seclusion and not terribly stiff competition compared to more conventional racing - aren't even really that applicable, anymore. So anyway, all of these things combined have made me seriously reconsider my commitment to the whole thing. I haven't quit - I still train enough to do well in big races, and possibly win some smaller ones - but the longer I do it, the more I think, "Meh."
So the fitness challenge. I decided recently that maybe part of why my body doesn't hold up as well in long races, anymore, is (aside from getting old) that it is hard to build muscle tone when all of your calories are being used up in cardio. And there are a lot of important muscles that stabilize your knees/ankles/whathaveyou that I'd do well to keep in shape. But I don't think I can build muscle as well as a person with a regular metabolism due to diabetes. Like, I plateau off and just can't get any stronger at certain things, and I think the diabetes contributes to this. So, I decided to try my hand at taking a little Creatine to supplement my weight workout, just to see what happens. Don't get the wrong idea - I'm not planning on going crazy on this (I'm taking about half the recommended dose), but I do think it might help me recover better from workouts, and have stronger muscles where I need them.
Therefore, as I have done in the past, I'll be posting pictures every week or so to see if I look any different. Probably won't do as many poses as I used to do, because it's a pain in the ass to get them right with my crappy oldcamera-from-2003, but I think you'll get the picture (sorry about the pun). If you'd like to take a peep at Week 1,
I like to look miserable in the "non-flexed" pictures, like those people in the "before" pictures from the old "Sudden Change Under Eye" magical age-reversing cream advertisements.
::strongguyface::
I'm hoping that this fitness challenge, as opposed to many of the others, will actually produce noticeable results, provided that I keep up with everything I'm planning on doing (otherwise, I have already been forewarned that Creatine will just make me fat).
So, running is not my job, and I don't think I'd want it to be. I like too many things (including my actual jobs) too much to focus on being a full-time athlete (not that this is even a financial option, anyway, so I'm speaking hypothetically). Plus, to be honest, I do not fit in with them. Ultrarunners, I mean. There is almost this weird, clique-feeling to it. I always hate the first 15-20 miles of a race, because I'm stuck in the midst of a bunch of people talking about all the other ultramarathons they've done and smarmily comparing their experiences in a way that comes off as sort of subdued bragging. Not even necessarily bragging about athletic prowess, just being in them. Like it moves you up a notch in that social group if you've "done Badwater" or "done Hardrock." It is hard to explain, because all of the people are really, really nice. In fact, I'm probably in the 99th percentile of jerks, there, if we looked at it statistically. It's just this undertone of yuppiness or something. I don't like it.
And the races get more and more crowded every year, so my original reasons for doing them - seclusion and not terribly stiff competition compared to more conventional racing - aren't even really that applicable, anymore. So anyway, all of these things combined have made me seriously reconsider my commitment to the whole thing. I haven't quit - I still train enough to do well in big races, and possibly win some smaller ones - but the longer I do it, the more I think, "Meh."
So the fitness challenge. I decided recently that maybe part of why my body doesn't hold up as well in long races, anymore, is (aside from getting old) that it is hard to build muscle tone when all of your calories are being used up in cardio. And there are a lot of important muscles that stabilize your knees/ankles/whathaveyou that I'd do well to keep in shape. But I don't think I can build muscle as well as a person with a regular metabolism due to diabetes. Like, I plateau off and just can't get any stronger at certain things, and I think the diabetes contributes to this. So, I decided to try my hand at taking a little Creatine to supplement my weight workout, just to see what happens. Don't get the wrong idea - I'm not planning on going crazy on this (I'm taking about half the recommended dose), but I do think it might help me recover better from workouts, and have stronger muscles where I need them.
Therefore, as I have done in the past, I'll be posting pictures every week or so to see if I look any different. Probably won't do as many poses as I used to do, because it's a pain in the ass to get them right with my crappy oldcamera-from-2003, but I think you'll get the picture (sorry about the pun). If you'd like to take a peep at Week 1,
I like to look miserable in the "non-flexed" pictures, like those people in the "before" pictures from the old "Sudden Change Under Eye" magical age-reversing cream advertisements.
::strongguyface::
I'm hoping that this fitness challenge, as opposed to many of the others, will actually produce noticeable results, provided that I keep up with everything I'm planning on doing (otherwise, I have already been forewarned that Creatine will just make me fat).