Army Life is my style

I really think the Army has added a ton of years to my life. When I'm away from the Army, I binge eat, drink, etc., and I refuse to work out. Once I'm back on post, I study hard, go to school, and work out. It's so refreshing after all the years of trying to kill my body. I still try to kill my body but it's on a 2 day per week basis now instead of 365 days a year. Anyway, flying was awesome today and I did 250 pushups and ran 4 miles. I felt really good running even though I had taken 10 days off and I'm going to try to run 9-10 miles on Sunday. We'll see how that goes. I could have done more pushups too but I feel good and I'm hoping to feel good tomorrow as well. Instead of killing myself for 350, I'll stick with 250 and hope that tomorrow I can get into the 250-300 range again. If I get to 5k by January 31st I'll be a happy camper. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to demolish my PT test in May. Can't wait to knock out 120 in the 2 minutes that we're allotted.

Pushups: Today-250 YTD-3850
Running: Today-4mi YTD-34mi

Threeee-Fiddy!!

Just did pushups 301-350 and now it's time for bed. The key is the morning. If I eat a good breakfast and do 100 before flight line, it's all gravy from there on out. If I do 50 or zero in the morning and eat a shitty breakfast, everything seems like a chore throughout the day. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Now, if I could only get back on the running train...

See you at 0350, cruel world.

Pushups: Today-350 YTD-3600
Running: Today-0mi YTD-30mi

Traveling

I got 150 done on the day I traveled back to Bama. Not bad for a travel day. I feel decent this morning, will hit a couple hundred I think. I should also get back on the running train, probably 4 miles. We'll see.

Pushups: Today-150 YTD-3250
Running: Today-0mi YTD-30mi

Beer is bad

Did 250 on Friday, was feeling great. Then got to my brother's house and got hammered, only did 50 on Saturday, got hammered again on Saturday night, and labored to do 100 today. Beer really is a pretty crushing thing. We're gonna try to avoid it for the next month or so. I have a half marathon to run on Feb 24 and I haven't run in over a week. More veggies and protein, less beer and carbs. Yes we can.

Pushups: weekend-400 ytd-3100
Running: weekend-0mi ytd-30mi

Standard

Did a standard 150 today. Boobs hurt from yesterday. My competition does 500 in a session, I definitely am not there yet. I'm going to DC for MLK weekend and hopefully my bro will motivate me to knock out a bunch.

Got a 95% on my 2nd Blackhawk Systems exam and I still don't feel like I know what's going on. Army tests are such a joke. Tomorrow I get to fly if the weather cooperates. Can't wait.

Pushups: today-150 ytd-2700
Running: today-0mi ytd-30mi

Encouraging

Today I did 150 pushups at breakfast and it felt great. When I tried to do 251-300, I felt a clicking in my left arm and stopped at 260. I was pretty worried but managed to do two more sets of 50 around dinner and had no issues with the arm. Not sure what happened but hopefully it was just odd positioning or something. I haven't run in a week and that needs to change. Inertia is a bitch.

Pushups: Today-360 YTD-2550
Running: Today-0mi YTD-30mi

Hmmmm

Just did 50 before bed, I'm officially worried about my motivation and it's 2 weeks in. Waking up at 03:50 every morning is rather exhausting. Blahhhhhhhhh.

Pushups: Today-50 YTD-2190
Running: Today-0mi YTD-30mi

Oy Vey

The weekend was quite a disaster. I took Friday off and hoped to do a ton on Saturday and Sunday but only managed to get 200 done while drinking and binging and watching football. 200 on a 3-day weekend is not acceptable. I got 150 done today but I'm no longer supremely confident that I can make 50K. It's feeling like more of a chore and my shoulders still don't feel great. Blahhhhh. And I haven't run since Thursday. Perhaps the Seahawks loss is a blessing in disguise...I can now focus on working out and flight school instead of spending infinite money traveling around the US to watch them play.

Pushups: Weekend-350 YTD-2140
Running: Weekend-0mi YTD-30mi

Like Clockwork

Another 4 miles and 150 pushups. I'm a machine. Running always saps my energy, I think I need to get most of my pushups done before going running because they are a real chore after a run. My competition, Ryan, is taking a different route to 50k pushups, taking multiple days off and then knocking out 500 in a day. I don't think I could do it that way and will keep plugging along at my pace. It's working so far and I really hope I start seeing strength gains soon. For now, I just feel a general soreness at all times. The running can't help. Tomorrow is an off-day for running but I will be driving to ATL so I won't have a ton of time to knock out many pushups. We'll see how I feel but it'd be nice to get 300 or so on a no-run day.

GOOOOOOOOOOOO SEAHAWKS!!!

Pushups: Today-150 YTD-1790
Running: Today-4mi YTD-30mi

Tired

Flight school is exhausting. Post from bed, was falling asleep then remembered I need to update daily. I think the YTD numbers are correct, will fix tomorrow if not. Gnight, cruel world. See you at 0400.

Pushups: today-150 ytd-1640
Running: today-4mi ytd-26mi

Morning Person

Today was basically a repeat of yesterday. I felt great in the AM but only did 50. Then I had to force myself to do 50 before dinner and 50 after to get to 150 for the day. I'm on AM Flight Line for the foreseeable future, which means I show up to work at 0500 and go home at 1230 every day. I'm going to need to get used to knocking out at least 100 when I wake up, before I go to fly, and then doing a bunch more around lunchtime, when I get home at 1300. There's a point, around 1500, when every ounce of energy is drained and pushups become much harder. I did get in a 4 mile run at 1530 so the day wasn't a total waste. GO HAWKS!!

Pushups: Today-150 YTD-1490
Running: Today-4mi YTD-22mi

AM energy

Woke up this morning feeling great, like I wanted to do a thousand pushups. But I only did 50 and went to class all day. I did 50 during a break but by the time I got home at 1600, I was exhausted and had to force myself to do two more sets, before and after dinner. So I got 200 done but I'm pretty sure I could have done 200 this morning alone. Next time I wake up feeling that good, I'm going to do 100 minimum. Tomorrow I start my 0500 flight line days and 0400 wake-ups. I'm even going to miss the National Championship game so that I can get to bed at a reasonable hour. Rooting for Bama to lose but really, I hate both teams. Thank goodness I can skip this one and focus on the Hawks. GO HAWKS!!

Pushups: Today-200 YTD-1340
Running: Today-0mi YTD-18mi

Pretty nice little Sunday

Seahawks win!! They play the Falcons next week and you can bet your sweet tush I'll be in Atlanta to cheer them on. I think Cliff and Molly are going to be in the area so it'll be some good family bonding time at the football game. There are tons of tickets available online, it shouldn't be too hard to score some for this one.

I ran 7 miles today with my friend James and felt infinitely better than I did on Saturday. I still hacked up a ton of phlegm and my lungs crackled like a chain smoker but I never stopped running, even if I did slow down a lot on the hills. But for a hilly course, I was proud of my 8-minute/mile pace. By February 24th, the New Orleans Rock and Roll Half should be no problem.

I also did 200 push-ups today. The push-ups themselves are coming easier but the motivation to do ANYTHING after 7 miles of running is hard to muster. I'm so glad I made this bet, I believe I'll do about 2-3x as many pushups as I would have otherwise. And push-ups are a part of my job so they're pretty important.

Full day of school tomorrow, boooooo. School is for fools!!

Pushups: Today-200 YTD-1140
Running: Today-7mi YTD-18mi

Bleh

I can't seem to kick this cold. I still have raspy breaths and get pretty congested at night. I went for a slow 3-mile run today and it felt horrible. I'm glad I went but I was wheezing and coughing the whole time like a 82 year-old man. Time waits for no man so I need to keep training but right now my body's telling me no. Just gotta make sure the mind is stronger.

I did sets of 50 pushups after each meal today and did one random one in the mid-afternoon for a total of 200. I think I could definitely do more but I'm going to keep on taking it easy. My body seems to be responding pretty well and I like where I'm at. It's definitely a marathon and there's no need to be killing my shoulders to get too far ahead of pace. I'm slowly building a decent cushion as it is and will probably continue to do 200-300 a day until next weekend at the earliest.

I could not possibly be more excited about a Divisional Playoff game than I am for tomorrow. This teem seems to have limitless potential but in the NFL it's one and done so every game is going to be insanely nervewracking. And we're facing a team in their house that's on a 7-game win streak. Some Seahawks fans think it's a lock. I definitely think we're the better team and deserve the -3 that Vegas has given us but this game is not a lock. 15:30 can't come soon enough. GO HAWKS!!

Pushups: Today-200 YTD-940
Running: Today-3mi YTD-11mi

Android

This is my first post ever using the Android app on my phone. Its pretty simple and clean, I'm a fan. Today was a rest day for running and I knocked out 250 pushups. The sets of 50 are coming much easier and I really should have gotten to 300 but I got real lazy after dinner. My shoulders are talking to me a bit so I think I'm going to keep my max around 250-300 a day until they feel stronger and then I'll try to up the ante. It'd be awesome to get up to 400-500 a day and knock out this challenge in 100-125 days. We'll see if I get there.

Pushups: today-250 ytd-740
Running: today-0mi ytd-8mi

Lethargy

I've been pretty sick for the past week and feeling super lethargic which doesn't help my physical fitness or academics at all. I still managed to run 4 miles this afternoon but I was super sore and felt like taking the day off from pushups. Then my roommate made some delicious Thai Curry with Chicken and I managed to do 50 right after dinner then 40 a bit later and 30 just now. I feel strong enough that I could probably do 50 each time but I don't want to push things too far right away. My chest is starting to feel great but my shoulders and triceps take a bit longer. Anyway, I got 120 done on a day that I felt like doing nothing. I'll take it!

It's really really hard being in flight school right now. We had 2 weeks of Blackhawk class before break and we're supposed to have retained all that info after the long holiday. Fat chance! I felt like such an idiot in class today and will be studying hard this weekend to refresh my brain. I don't really care about the AFC Divisional games so I'll study and work out during the day and watch football at night. Sounds like a pretty nice little weekend to me.

GO HAWKS!!

Pushups: Today-120 YTD-490
Running: Today-4mi YTD-8mi

Back to the Grind

Today was pretty productive and provided a much needed buffer for the transition from alcoholic bum to professional Army Aviator. I got a load of laundry done, did some grocery shopping, went for a 4-mile run, and did a bunch of studying. My brain isn't working quite as efficiently as it was before break but I'm hoping it won't be too hard to shake off the rust. Tomorrow should be an interesting day of class.

I also got 200 push-ups done, with sets of 40-45-35-40-40 spread throughout the day. I am sorer than I hoped I would be but I'm thinking I'll get back into the zone soon. I spoke with my buddy James, one of the biggest PT studs I know, about the bet and he thinks it's going to be hard to accomplish. It's not necessarily the 150 push-ups per day, it's having the motivation and commitment to do them every single day. I'm going to try to do at least 200 per day so that I'll have some buffer on days where I'm just not feeling it. We'll see. So far, I can't foresee having too many issues.

Pushups: Today-200 YTD-370
Running: Today-4mi YTD-4mi

Happy New Year!!

I'm happier on this New Years Day than I have been for a while. I feel like I really accomplished a lot in 2012 and worked my ass off for most of the year. I'm hoping I remember this feeling and take it to 2013 like I did 2012. I'm also hoping I remember how much of a slacker I was for most of December and I don't do that in 2013. January is going to be wasted making up for my horrific December. For shame.

Last night, I decided to DD because my flight home was at 0600 and I was feeling kind of sluggish. I bought two bottles of nice champagne and shared them with everyone, drinking only 3 glasses myself. I was able to give 5 different groups rides home because the cabs were obviously never coming and it made me feel good to be the one to look after their well-being. I'm thinking that I'll make this my NYE tradition and hope that the good karma follows me into each new year.

I think I like getting really drunk when others are relatively sober and staying sober when others get shit faced. It's an obvious poker parallel too: When others are playing loose and aggro, you tighten up but when others are playing too tight, you start to shit on them. I think that I enjoy sticking out from the crowd. Who wants to be ordinary and drink just because it's NYE? Who wants to be ordinary and remain sober, just because it's a tupperware party?

The trip back to Alabama is always brutal. My flight left Sea-Tac at 0600 and I didn't get home to Fort Rucker until 1800. Beyond the 12 hours of travel, I have to deal with the emotional pain of leaving my favorite city in the US for my least favorite region of the US. Sigh.

I'm definitely excited to get back into my regimented lifestyle. I have proven many times that I'm terrible at self-motivation and I need the Army to force me to study and work out and be productive. It's so easy to just lie in bed while I'm at home and do nothing all day. My pushups came slowly and painfully today and I'm not looking forward to my first run tomorrow.

I did 50 pushups this morning before getting driven to the airport and I did 3 sets of 40 throughout the evening so I'm logging 170 for the day. Around December 1st I would never have considered doing only 40 pushups in a set but I'm not feeling 100% and had a long day. Hopefully I'm not too sore tomorrow and I can rely on my 50 pushups per meal plan. I'll end with a running total every day, something like this:

Pushups: Today-170 YTD-170
Running: Today-0m YTD-0m

GO HAWKS!!

Staying on Pace

I've been playing with the numbers trying to determine the best way to stay on pace for my running and pushups. I've determined that mentally it's easiest for me to shoot for 150 pushups per day and 10 miles per week. Neither of those look particularly daunting, especially considering that I like to do 50 pushups before or after every meal. If I never did a pushup other than the 50 pre-meal pushups, I'd still reach my goal. Too easy!! The running goal doesn't seem too bad either, but I'm going to try to make sure I spread my miles out over 3-5 days and not just run 10 miles on the weekends. The #1 goal is obviously to stay injury free for the whole year. Pacing and moderation will play a big role. Can't wait to do some pushups at 12:01!!

2013

I'm not really a huge New Years Resolution kind of guy but this year I feel like making a few. Thanks go my buddy Kennedy for booking me in a push-up bet. The number is 50,000 by 12/31/13 and whomever doesn't make it there has to buy whomever makes it a NFL, NCAA, and futbol jersey of the winner's choice. I know for sure that I'm asking for a Russell Wilson authentic Gray, whatever UW jersey is all the rage next year, and a Lionel Messi jersey of some sort...probably an Argentina World Cup '14 jersey, assuming they'll be released by then.

50K pushups is a lot, and I haven't done a single one in the past 3 weeks, but I'm fairly confident that I can do it. I'm also going to try to run 500 miles in the year but I'm less confident about that one. I have a half-marathon planned for February 24th in New Orleans so that should help my motivation a bit. It'd be nice to have someone betting against me but I think I'm just going to do this one on my own.

Lastly, I'm going to try to eat super healthy in 2013 and enhance all the exercise crap with proper nutrition. I really let myself go during November and December and I'm feeling like quite the bum. I'm excited to get back to Fort Rucker and put my nose to the grindstone...both academically and physically. I know the academics and flying will be forced upon me, no matter what kind of resolutions I make, but the physical health is all up to me.

I'll be tracking my progress on twitter and here on this blog. Hopefully I'll make more meaningful posts and fewer short tweets but I know how consumed I will be by Blackhawk school and I can't promise to devote much time to blogging. At any rate, I'm glad that this site is still around and glad that I was able to make one post in 2012. Here's to more blog entries next year and a healthy and safe 2013!!