An Exercise Diary

First Marathon: 42.195km - A DREAM COME TRUE!

2012-12-14T01:21:00.001+00:00

I can't believe I did it. I ran my first marathon on 2nd December 2012 and am the first person in my entire family (extended family included) to have ever run the marathon. It took me 6 hrs 46 mins (slow I know) to complete. The pain between 30km and 42km was excruciating and was so happy to have made it across the line. This is one of the greatest achievements of my life as I was almost morbidly obese at one time in my life. The turnaround to my life, physique and achievements have been huge. Running a marathon was a dream for me just 2 years ago. Today it is a reality. This proves that anything can be achieved when you put your mind to it. With this life achievement under my belt, I have now set my target on gaining a ripped physique as soon as possible; and if I can run a marathon, I can definitely do this!

50 min run + Workout

2012-11-07T09:15:00.001+00:00

Yesterday I managed to do a 50 min run at an easy pace to get my body used to running long distances. It was a good run and the weather was good also. Afterwards, I did a 25 min workout consisting of stretches, pushups, situps, partial pullups and chest push. It wasn't a tough workout and I think the effect was perfect.

30km in 3hrs 37mins 49secs

2012-10-30T02:41:00.002+00:00

This Sunday was a momentous day as I beat my previous longest running distance by 9km. I never thought that I could beat 21km. But I wanted to try and did the 30km in a time that I am proud of. The pain was excruciating and I took 6 Panadols when I got back home. Yesterday the pain on my leg muscles was much abated while today I can positively walk straight again - albeit with a little pain. I must say that the experience was amazing and the support by random strangers towards the end was encouraging. I am glad to have broken my personal best record and hope to break it again soon.

5km run + workout

2012-10-25T08:07:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went for a 5km run + a couple of km to the track and back and a workout. The workout involved stretches, pushups, situps, plank, crunches and leg-raises. This is in preparation for my long run this Sunday and hopefully everything will go well. It will be my longest and I hope to break my record doing this. I plan to take Friday and Saturday off to rest for my run...so hopefully that will pay off.

25 min Workout

2012-10-23T07:36:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I did a 25 min workout comprising of stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, plank, leg-raises, and supermans. It was a tough workout considering my arms were still aching from the previous day. Today I feel that my arms are really hurting and I think I'll only be going for a run today.

5km run + 20 min workout

2012-10-23T07:33:00.001+01:00

The day before yesterday I went for a 5km run + a 20 min workout comprising of stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, chest pushes on the body weight workout machines outside my house. Those machines are surprisingly effective and I'll be using them more often.

5km run + workout

2012-10-17T15:47:00.002+01:00

Today I did a 5km run and a workout involving stretches, pushups, situps and crunches. It was actually longer than 5km because I had to run about 1.5 km to the track each way. However, I'm not going to count that distance and take it only as a warm up. This is good since it allows me to run longer distances without me realizing it. I'm preparing for a 30km run next weekend and hopefully these runs will help me in completing the race on time.

25 min Workout

2012-10-11T13:58:00.000+01:00

Today I managed to do a 25 min workout with pushups, situps, crunches, squats, plank, side-plank, leg-raises and stretches. It's been a while since I have done an intensive workout like this and we'll see how I feel tomorrow morning.

6km run + Workout

2012-10-11T13:55:00.002+01:00

On Tuesday I was able to do a 6km run together with a workout involving pushups, crunches, plank and stretches. It felt really good and I think I will do this routine more often.

21km Half Marathon - 3rd time!

2012-10-02T15:57:00.000+01:00

Oh...I forgot to mention in my last post that I ran my 3rd half marathon on September 9th and completed it in 2hrs 31 mins...although I'm going to call it 2 hrs 21 mins due to huge congestion throughout the race forcing me to stop several times during the run. I reckon I lost about 10 mins at least (probably more) due to this. Anywhoo...I am preparing for longer runs and recognize that my overall fitness, core strength and hamstring muscles need to be increased in order to run longer and faster. Later!

25 min workout

2012-10-02T15:50:00.001+01:00

I know that I have not posted in a while due to being very busy at work and at home. I have been working out....albeit irregularly and have put on a little weight. But now I am getting back on track to getting in shape. Today I did a 25 min workout with stretches, situps, pushups, leg-raises and plank. It felt to get back to working out again and will keep posting as I do more and more workouts.

10km run in 53 mins 40 secs

2012-07-14T05:04:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I posted on my progress to getting ripped. Unfortunately I was quite sick last week and was not able to do any workouts. I was however able to run a 10km event on Sunday before I got sick. It was not my best time, but it was close: 53mins 40secs. I think my lack of consistency in working out has to contribute to this. My expectation was to beat my previous best time of 49 mins which did not happen. But now I know what I need to do to beat my record. I'm also running 21km runs more consistently now and I think I can run the marathon if I train for the next 5 months for the marathon in December. Will keep posting on my progress when possible.

20 min Run + Workout

2012-06-03T15:38:00.000+01:00

Did a 20 mins run and a workout with pushups, situps, crunches and plank. The workout was only about 15 mins, but I think I made the most of it. Hoping to continue this trend for the next few days.

21km - Half Marathon AGAIN!

2012-06-01T13:46:00.000+01:00

I didn't think I could do it again; but I tried and managed to complete it successfully with a time of 2hrs 26mins. It was 2 mins slower than my previous time; but that was mainly due to the huge crowd participating in the race. Literally, the run was packed for at least 1hr 45 mins. The overall race momentum kinda slowed due to trying to overtake people and being stuck behind someone slow. All in all, I'm glad that I finished it for the second time with a great time again. I think I see this going all the way...if you know what I mean. We'll see. Here's hoping for the future.

21 km - Half Marathon (A dream come true!)

2012-04-29T13:28:00.000+01:00

I finally achieved a personal dream by completing the half marathon in 2hrs 24mins. I had been wanting to complete this for more than a year and didn't have the opportunity or the time to do it. I finally did it last week and I feel great. It seems that I really do have the capacity to complete long distances and get ripped. I only hope that I can sustain this for a long enough period of time....and for the first time, I feel that I just MAY have the capacity to complete a marathon - something that I never dreamed I could ever do (just like the half marathon). There is a marathon in December, and if I start practicing now, maybe I can do it. We'll see!

30 mins workout + 7 km Run

2012-02-29T00:54:00.000+00:00

On Monday I did a 30 min workout involving stretches, situps, pushups, crunches, plank, glute-raises and leg-raises. This workout was after about 1 week on not doing any sort of workout and it really felt good to start working out again.

I also did a 7km run on Tuesday in 42 mins 36secs. It's a little slow for me, but I think that time will improve in the future. Right now I have to keep motivated to workout on a regular basis.

Short run + 1 hour workout

2012-01-15T11:58:00.000+00:00

Today I managed to do a short run with a workout of 1 hour consisting of pushups, squats, crunches, and machine press. This time, I really did a lot in the gym even though I don't like wasting time in the gym too much. However, this was good because I went with friends and the experience was good motivation for my goal. I think I will do this more often due to the motivation benefit that it brings.

20 min run + 20 min workout

2012-01-11T14:29:00.000+00:00

Today I did a 20 min run and a 20 min workout with pushups, crunches, shoulder machine and the pull down machine. This is cos I went to the gym today and thought that I might as well do some machines while I am there. I don't intend to continue doing gym machines religiously though as I feel that I get the best results by doing body weight exercises.

30 min run + 15 min workout

2012-01-11T11:16:00.000+00:00

Yesterday I managed to do a 30 min run and a 15 min workout afterwards. The workout consisted of stretches, pushups, crunches, leg-raises and glute bridges. I'm going to see if I can do the same combination today.

30 min workout

2012-01-08T17:06:00.001+00:00

Yesterday I did a 30 min workout with stretches, pushups, situps, leg-raises, glute-bridges, plank and crunches. An unstable work schedule is a real killer for working out. I hope my current project is over this work, cos it's really messing up my workout evenings.

28 min run + 15 min workout

2012-01-04T15:27:00.000+00:00

Yesterday I did a 28 min run and a 15 min workout consisting of stretches, pushups, glute-bridges, exercise wheel, leg-raises and crunches. The run + workout combination is truly amazing. Al though I can't run everyday, I am going to make it a habit to do at least 15 mins workout after every run. Today I decided to take a rest day due to being extraordinarily tired and sleepy. I will rest today and continue workouts again tomorrow.

30 min workout

2012-01-03T07:13:00.000+00:00

Yesterday I did a 30 min workout consisting of stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-raises, glute-bridges, plank and exercise wheel. It was very fast and very intense. The momentum has been good so far and I hope I can maintain this consistently.

32 min run + workout

2012-01-02T10:39:00.001+00:00

Yesterday I did a 32 min run and a workout which consisted of stretches, pushups, crunches, plank and the exercise wheel. The wheel was again a very difficult exercise and I think I really need to improve my abs with the wheel since it seems that my abs are very weak. In any case, the + workout combination really made me sweat and I think this combination is the best for anyone planning to get ripped. I will try to do this more in the future.

20 min workout

2012-01-01T04:17:00.001+00:00

Yesterday I did a 20 min workout with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-raises, glute-bridges, plank and exercise wheel. The exercise wheel was surprisingly difficult. I could do only 5 reps. Initially, I did not believe that this was a difficult exercise, but now I have developed a new respect for it and will continue to do it every day. Check out the video I found on Youtube below.

Oh and Happy New Year to all!

30 min workout

2011-12-31T03:20:00.002+00:00

Yesterday I did a 30 min workout with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-raises, glute-bridges and plank. I have been really pushing the limits of my strength this last few days and I'm hopeful to start seeing changes soon. Will keep this blog updated.