JoshElledge.com

Just an update for anyone following my blog…

I HAVE kept the fat off that I lost.  I’m actually holding steady @ 16.5% BF.  I’m running 3 times a week.  I don’t, however, see a marathon that would work in my schedule.  Couple of things I’m excited about…

Jeff Galloway – He teaches that it’s much easier to train for a marathon when you incorporate walk breaks into your run.  I haven’t noticed too big an impact on my time/pace – but my recovery has been awesome!

Chi-running – just watch this video…

iFit Live – watch this video.

I’ve finished days 87-90 – which for my modified plan, means just getting out and running a couple times.  This includes a regular 4.5 mile run and a longer 6.5 mile run.

While I did finish P90X, and I did complete the half marathon in under 2:30, I didn’t lose all the fat I wanted.  I’m @ 17% and wanted to get below 15% – which would mean a loss of around 3.5 more pounds.  It looks like I lost 5.3 pounds of fat and gained 2.2 pounds of muscle.

That’s quite alright.  I feel like I’m on some good momentum now.  I’m into marathon training mode – and I’m going to make sure that I stay “slow-carb.”  (good high fiber, complex carbs with lots of protein)

My next goal?  I’m nearly 90% sure that I’m set for the Kalamazoo, MI Marathon.  I just finished listening to Ultra Marathon Man.  I watched the 50 states / 50 marathons / 50 days documentary – which was inspiring as well  and now reading Jeff Galloway’s “Marathon: You Can Do It” book.  I’m pretty pumped!

Alright… winding down on P90X.  I’m not expected to do any heavy lifting – but I’m already getting antsy wondering what I’ll do next.
80 – Back Biceps
81 – Run 4.5 miles – intervals
82 – Rest (but walked 5 miles)
83 – Rest (but walked 4 miles)
84 – Ran a PR!!
85 – YMCA weight machines
86 – Ran 6 miles

I ran 4.5 miles in 41:44 – which is technically the fastest 4.5 miles I’ve ever run on the street.  I’ve run a bit faster and if I adjusted a 4.47 mile run it might be a hair faster – but 4.5 is my standard for measuring my regular performance.  I started running intervals – and got to a fast interval – and felt like I could keep on going – so I did – all the way home!  I’m feeling really good about the effect that interval training will have on my performance.  I’m going to keep on doing it!

ALSO!!

WOW – Slow-carb eating is REALLY working well for me!

Google “Slow carb diet” or “four hour body.” I’ve dropped 7.4 lbs fat (that’s 3% drop in bf – NOT water weight) in three weeks. As you can see, I work out fairly often – but my previous carb-rich diet was really negating my progress with the same workout schedule.  I was gaining muscle mass – but my fat loss was pretty flat – and actually up through New Years.

NOVEMBER 1st
150.8 lbs lean body mass
36.7 lbs bodyfat (19.6%)

TODAY
154.2 lbs lean body mass
29.8 lbs bodyfat (16.2%)
I need to run just a couple more times this week to call it good for my modified P90X round.  No problem with that!  In fact, as I’m listening to Ultra Marathon Man, I’m getting itchy for another full marathon and am very tempted to run…

http://thekalamazoomarathon.com/

SUNDAY, MAY 8th

Just did some adding.  I’ve lost 6″ across my chest, waist, hips, thigh, and neck.  This is very very good news. Ive been ultra-strict on my eating the past couple weeks – and I’ve been having a bit of a weight plateau since Saturday – but my measurements are changing – which is much more important.  Still… my impedance isn’t showing the rapid improvement I was last week for bf %.  Lots of body composition things could be going on regarding how much water I’m carrying – since I changed my diet to high-protein.

Today is my second to last strength training workout day.  Back & biceps – which is probably my favorite.  Friday is lower body – which I had been taking it real easy on prior to the half marathon – and the week after the marathon.  I’ll step it up on Friday for sure.

Suffering from a knee pain from my bike ride.  I was riding in too low a gear – and my seat may be too low.  I must get my settings looked at before going out again.  My knee was in pain for four days because of Tuesday’s ride.

I had a run on Sunday which was absolutely splendid.  I love running.  I just started listening to

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.  It is EXCELLENT!!  I can’t wait to hear more.  (My brain was on overload from “The Know-it-All” – so I’m moving to something a little more physical.)

I am SO glad this is the last week of P90X.  I’m sick of it to be honest with you.  Yes – yes – the results are very good.  I’m grateful to be doing the work.  Beforehand, I’m dreading it – and during it, I feel like I’m just going though the motions – even though I’m pushing harder than ever.  I’m WAYYYY stronger than when I started.  Afterward, I’ll post all my biggest gains in strength.  Just about every single exercise, I’ve gone up in weight or reps – (in some cases BOTH).

I think I mentioned, I’ve started eating much more on track with what I’m supposed to.  I’m quite pleased with everything.  My measurements have improved significantly and after my temporary holiday weight gain, I’m back down in %BF.  I took a cheat meal on Saturday night – which I read may provide some benefit to my metabolism.  I’m not sure how much I believe that – but I took it anyway – a big Oreo milkshake.  It was delicious – but it caused a temporary weight gain Sunday and Monday morning.  I’m guessing after 48 hours, I should be fine.  I’ll be fully back on track tomorrow morning with another great weight loss.  To get to 15% bodyfat, I need to shoot for 180lbs.  That’s just 5.4 pounds away.  That’s simply a 16,200 Calorie deficit over the course of 2-4 months.  To hit 12%, I need to shoot for 172.

Check out these tools here:  http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

70 – Rest
71 – Chest / Back
72 – Bike Ride
73 – Rest (Okay – this one wasn’t scheduled.  I’ll need to make up for it!)

Let’s review my goals:

1. Run a half marathon in less than 2.5 hours on January 8th, 2011.

2. COMPLETE the modified 90-day P90X program by January 29th, 2011.

3. Through excellent eating and exercise, I’ll drop below 15% bodyfat by January 29th, 2011.

1. DONE!

2. ONLY FIVE MORE STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUTS TO GO.

3. NOT EVEN CLOSE. I’m still @ 17.5%.   While this IS a drop of 2.1% I’ve got a far way to go to get to 15% – and it wouldn’t be healthy to do it in 17 days.  My measurements are all better overall.  Altogether, I have lost 2.1% bodyfat – which is good – but won’t win me any competitions.  Still, having lost 4.2 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle… I can CLEARLY see differences in the mirror.  I can tell you right now that my downfall was WAY too many carbs.  I’m a carb lovin’ fool.  One too many nighttime bowls of cereal didn’t help my cause.  Over the past 5-7 days, I’ve really worked harder to limit my carbs and eat more protein.  I’ve seen positive changes on the scale in just this past week as a result.  Soooo… I’ll make a note of this for next time… which leads me to think…

What happens after this?  What will be my next goal?  I definitely want to run the full marathon next year.  In fact, I really want to run the Goofy Challenge: 39.3 miles.  (Half Marathon PLUS Full Marathon the next day).  My #1 goal will be injury prevention.  More on this later…

What an awesome experience!!

I ran the half marathon and beat my training time by a HUGE margin!!

Did I hit my goal of running it in under 2:30?

YES!  My time was…

2 hours 25 minutes 58 seconds

This is VERY good for me – as an amateur.

Here are all my stats.  (Thank you Garmin!)

Getting ready for my half marathon.  Getting excited!

65 – Short Run
66 – Back / Biceps
67 – Short Run
68 – Rest

Chest Shoulders Tris

I had a bad attitude.  I didn’t want to do it.  I grumbled through it.  I did it.

I seem to be mostly recovered from Saturday’s run.  I hope that on Saturday I will be able to run without slowing much.  I ended up with a few walking episodes on Saturday’s 11.5 mile run due to knee and hip pain.  How I wish I could build up to the ultra-endurance distances (50 miles).  I really enjoy the run – if it weren’t for the soreness and fatigue!

T-minus FIVE DAYS!

Day 58: Run

Day 59: Shoulders and Arms

Day 60:Rest  (extra rest day in preparation for my Saturday long run)

Day 61:Rest

Day 62: Run 11.5 miles

Day 63:  RECOVERY!  Yeah – my knees and hips were plenty sore.

Read my article “Lose all the weight you want and save more money.”

http://savingsangel.com/blog/?p=792