About Paruda
Run, Run, Run February 2005
Every so often I find myself slowing down and decide to lose some weight
and get back in shape. For this purpose I've had two
main exercises: running on the spot, and situps. The running is good aerobic
exercise that makes me sweat buckets, and the situps strengthen my
lower back and make lifting things a whole lot easier. I usually keep
it up until I've reached some weight loss goal... or until I injure
myself, or until I get buried in some other distraction that leaves me
with no time to run. That last one is a lame excuse, of course, since
I know that when I'm in shape, I'm better prepared to do just about
anything.
This time around, I've also added stair climbing to the package. Running
on the spot doesn't do a heck of a lot for the upper legs since it's
not imperative that the feet get very high off the ground. Rather than
attempt to artificially will myself to raise my knees higher while running,
I'm just climbing stairs after I finish running.
Here's what I've done since beginning in mid-January:
| Run Minutes | Situps | Floors |
| January |
| 50 | 20 | 1 |
| 50 | 20 | 2 |
| 50 | 22 | 3 |
| 50 | 22 | 4 |
| 50 | 24 | 5 |
| February |
| 50 | 24 | 6 |
| 50 | 26 | 7 |
| 50 | 26 | 8 |
| 50 | 28 | 9 |
| - | - | 20 |
| 50 | 28 | 30 |
| 50 | 30 | 11 |
| 50 | 30 | 12 |
To help me stick to my plan this time around, I've taken the bold step
of actually posting my schedule on the wall at home, and asked
Mrs. Paruda to kindly yell at me should I not keep up with the routine.
I've missed one run thus far off my schedule, due to discomfort in my
knees. I'm not sure if it's related to the stair climbing or just the
way I was sitting at work this week. Hmmm. Only one way to find out
— run on it! Update: Probably just the way I was sitting. I
added some stair climbing at work to my totals the last few days, with
no ill effects.
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Paruda, also known as Derek England in what some people call real life, is
a Unix geek in Toronto, Canada. When not applying his geeking skills to working
for the man, he likes to draw cartoons and serve as overbearing overlord on