The time change is throwing me off. Ivy woke me up at what would be my usual time of 4ish in the morning, but this morning, that’s 3 in the morning. Physically no different, but mentally…why the fuck am I up now?! Oh yeah, because the dogs don’t know we’re supposed to sleep later, they just know “I gotta go, so you gotta get up and take me” So now I’m sitting here after finishing my first cup of coffee and getting food prep done for the week ahead, and I sat down to reflect on the last week, and I’m coming up blank. Nothing really stands out. I guess not every week is a highlight reel. Some are just…fine. Steady. Unremarkable. And honestly? I guess I can live with that.
This week I missed leg day because of an appointment, but then I got my runs in Tuesday and Thursday, and the calves are feeling a bit of alright, so that’ll be my win for the week.
A few months ago, a “meh” week would’ve derailed me. I wanted the weekly PRs, whether lifting or running, but now, it’s just part of the plan. No drama, no meltdown, just stacking days. Lifting, running, sleeping (mostly), recovering, repeating.
The work is starting to feel normal. Not always easy, especially when it’s cooling off a lot in the morning, so the desire to just curl up in an already warm bed sounds WAY better than going outside, but normal. And with the major “stuff your face” holidays coming up, I think normal is what I’ll need to keep from blowing myself up like an overstuffed turkey. (Is there such a thing as too much stuffing?!)
Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.
You ever notice how the universe seems to have a sixth sense (I see sleepy people) for screwing with your sleep? This week was supposed to be my big “rest and recharge” week — a de-load before kicking off Phase 2. Instead, I got a parade of late-night curveballs: heartburn from poor pizza choices, multiple dog puke alarms, and even a 1 AM flash flood alert.
So yeah — not exactly the deep, restorative slumber I had in mind. But here’s the funny part: even with garbage sleep, my body still moved (sloooooowly, stubbornly) in the right direction.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (Even if the Scale Does)
Weight: Bounced around thanks to salty meals (210.4 → 209.6 lbs range), but my waist shrank another notch to 38.4 inches.
Body Fat % (tape): 27.3 → 27.1% (small but steady drop).
Lean Mass: Holding steady around 153 lbs.
Soreness: Never above 1/10 all week.
Translation: the scale noise was water retention, not fat gain. The waistline is still trimming down, and the fat % (via tape) is sliding in the right direction. That’s the exact outcome I wanted from de-load week — joints fresh, body still trending leaner, ready to push harder again.
Training on Cruise Control
The gym sessions this week were short and sweet, everything was about form and blood flow, not weight.
Add in:
Daily calf rehab walks (2.5–3.5 miles).
Dog walks every day (about a mile).
Steam room recovery 3x.
Basically: I stayed moving, but never pushed the gas pedal. And my calves didn’t mutiny, which is a big win in itself.
The Real Limiter: Sleep
Every night was something, between eating too much salt later in the day (but so damned tasty), to eating cheap pizza and waking up with heartburn all through the night, my food choices and timing could have been better. And then the dogs decided that this week was a great time to puke. Or go outside. I mean, they did have to go to the bathroom, so I can’t be upset. I’d rather them wake me up then to make a mess inside, but it really messed up the sleep I was hoping for.
The result? Sleep averaged about 5.5–6 hours/night, with broken chunks instead of long, restorative cycles. Energy during the day was “meh” at best, “dragging” at worst. But here’s the kicker — even with that, my waist still shrank, and the fat % still ticked down. That means the system’s working.
Phase 2: What’s Next
De-load week wasn’t glamorous, but it did its job: let the joints and muscles recover, hold my body comp steady, and mentally reset. Now it’s time to move forward.
Here’s the Phase 2 game plan:
Strength Progression: Back to heavier lifting, pushing the main lifts toward true RPE 8–9 sets. More structured progression in shorter blocks.
Running Base: Transition from intervals and rehab walks into consistent 5K runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Saturday long runs creeping past 3 miles into real endurance territory.
Nutrition Tweaks: Keep protein high, but add carbs on run days to fuel endurance (no more skimping here). Sodium awareness stays in play so the scale doesn’t gaslight me.
Recovery Insurance: Naps when I can sneak them in, hydration buffers around salty meals, and earlier wind-downs whenever possible.
Milestones in Sight: Sub-10:00 mile pace, 5K continuous running, push-ups and dips climbing past Phase 1 marks, waistline continuing its slow march down toward 38 → 37.
The Verdict
Deload week wasn’t pretty. The workouts were light, the sleep was trash, and the scale was lying to me. But the signals underneath all that noise? Leaner, tighter, and primed for Phase 2.
Phase 1 was about getting consistent again. Phase 2 is where the results start compounding — heavier weights, longer runs, and smarter recovery.
And if the universe could stop sending me early morning dog puke, that’d be great too.
Still Lifting. Still Losing. Still Showing Up. (Usually)
Dogs are the best alarm clocks and the worst recovery tools. Most mornings, I’m up at 4 AM to hit the gym, but some nights I’m already awake because Ivy, my youngest, has decided to boop me square in the face at 2 AM like a drunk friend confessing their love. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Guess what?! I fuckin’ love you man.” Meanwhile, Bane, my older hound, itches from allergies, then needs to go outside. After all, he’s up, so why not? A full, uninterrupted night of sleep? Rare as Bigfoot flying a UFO.
But six weeks later, I’ve learned something: consistency doesn’t mean perfection. It means showing up even when the night before was chaos. It means stringing together enough good days that the bad ones don’t completely screw up your progress.
The verdict? Mission accomplished — in a George W. Bush sort of way.
The Numbers (July 19 → Aug 31)
Weight: 208.4 lb → 208.2 lb (flat, but the real story is in the details)
Body Fat % (tape): 28.6% → 27.3% (–1.3%)
Waist: 39.5 in → 38.6 in (–0.9 in)
Lean Mass: +2.5 lb
Fat Mass: –2.7 lb
Fitness Test Highlights:
Plank: 60s → 70s
Push-Ups: 15 → 20
Pull-Ups: 5 → 6
Dips: 8 → 9
Wall Sit: 45s → 60s
Not breaking records, but breaking my old limits — and that’s the whole point.
Wins
Consistency streak: I finally stacked six weeks of gym sessions, runs, mobility, and recovery. Not perfect attendance, but no disappearing acts either.
Logging became a habit: Every lift, every run, every measurement tracked. The data pile is now a foundation, not a chore.
Recovery tools came online: Steam room, EMS, massage gun — when used, they worked.
Walking became non-negotiable: Daily walks with Bane and Ivy. Some days that was the win, and it was enough.
Challenges
Calf sabotage: My left calf staged a revolt near the end of the phase, forcing me to swap runs for rehab walks. It was a reminder that durability comes before distance.
Sleep disruptions: Between dogs and on-call shifts, “uninterrupted sleep” was more of a fantasy. Some mornings the real victory was just getting out of bed.
Balancing lifting and running: Learning how much was enough without tipping into too much took trial, error, and a couple strained muscles.
Biggest Challenge = Me: Mentally, I’m still my own biggest roadblock. I can overthink, second-guess, or want to scrap it all when things don’t go perfectly. But this time, I didn’t.
Lessons Learned
The single biggest lesson from Phase 1: missing workouts doesn’t mean failure.
I missed Fridays. I missed Saturdays. Sometimes back-to-back weeks. In the past, that would’ve been the end. I would’ve scrapped the plan and “restarted later” (translation: months down the road when I looked in the mirror and wondered when I was due).
This time, I just kept showing up. Mondays were my reset button. Dog walks were my insurance policy. A bad day, a bad night of sleep, or a missed workout didn’t derail the whole thing — it was just like tripping on a raised bit of sidewalk. I stumbled, caught myself, and kept going.
I also learned that:
Recovery matters as much as training. Push through a strain and you lose weeks. Rest smart and you’re back in days.
Data = accountability. Logging everything, even the ugly sessions, kept me honest.
Consistency isn’t about streaks, it’s about persistence.
Recomp Week (Deload)
This week isn’t about progress, it’s about preservation. The plan:
Training: Light weights, mobility, calf rehab, walks, maybe some biking.
Nutrition: Simple, clean meals. More protein, less fluff. Sandwiches and salads are the name of the game.
Recovery: Steam room and sauna back in the mix, EMS/TENS daily for the calf, compression on rotation.
It’s not retreat — it’s reset.
Looking Ahead – Phase 2
Phase 2 officially starts Sept 7, with the half marathon training plan launching Sept 14. The goals:
Push gym weights upward with a fresh baseline.
Rebuild my running base without re-aggravating the calf.
Keep recovery non-negotiable.
The foundation is built. Now it’s time to layer strength and endurance onto it.
Closing
Phase 1 is done. I’m leaner, stronger, and still standing. Not because everything went perfectly — it didn’t — but because I kept showing up. Even when the calf blew up. Even when sleep didn’t happen. Even when Ivy booped me awake at 2 AM to remind me that she loved me.
The base is built. Recomp week is here. Next stop: Phase 2.
Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.
Sunday Reset – Week 6 Kickoff Sometimes the best training move is no training at all. After cramping through Saturday’s run, I skipped my planned Lone Mountain walk and gave my calf a real break. Instead, I caught up on sleep, food prep, and a whole lot of nothing. Funny thing is, that “nothing” might have been the smartest thing I did all week.
The grogginess from a CBD gummy reminded me that recovery isn’t just about muscles—it’s also about the nervous system and sleep quality. With soreness easing and the week ahead mapped out, I’m stepping into Week 6 not burnt out, not behind—just ready to keep stacking consistent days.
Monday Ivy decided 3 AM was the perfect time to puke, and Bane chimed in later with his itching routine, so sleep wasn’t exactly awesome. Still, I managed to shake it off and head in for leg day.
The session itself went well — I’m still dialing in that upper limit on the leg press. The tricky part is finding a load that pushes strength without wrecking my legs for the next day’s run. That balance between strength and endurance is Phase 1 in a nutshell: building a base without overcooking anything.
It’s the last week of this phase, and I want to finish it proud — consistent, steady, and ready to earn that de-load before Phase 2 cranks things up.
Tuesday Planned: continuous 4K run. Reality: calf had other ideas. The left side cramped again, so the run became another run/walk. Frustrating, since hydration and electrolytes were on point yesterday and this morning. So, it’s likely not an issue with hydration.
So I’ll take it easy today and keep icing and stretching, and hope that adding a compression sleeve Thursday will help. And next week is my scheduled de-load week, so I won’t be going quite as hard at the gym.
Wednesday
Last night’s sleep finally cooperated, and it showed up in the gym today. The chest and triceps session moved well, and it felt good to rack weights without second-guessing if I had anything left in the tank. It’s also the last stretch of my on-call rotation, which means soon I can get back to one of my favorite recovery tools: steam room sessions. I’ve missed them more than I expected.
Midweek, the body feels solid and the mindset is steady. I know the measurements will be what they’ll be, but I feel like I’m actually putting in the kind of work that will start to show. Progress may not always be obvious day to day, but stringing together weeks like this is what gets me to the bigger goals. Right now, I’m hitting the gym hard and staying locked in—that’s a win.
Still Lifting. Still Losing (My Mind). Still Showing Up (Usually).
Today was a good step forward. I stretched my intervals to 90 seconds run / 30 seconds walk and logged 3 miles in just under 35 minutes. That’s the longest run I’ve managed in quite a while, and while I could feel the effort, it felt good to push the distance a bit.
One issue still lingering: that hot spot on the ball of my right foot. Even trying some new socks, it crept in again. It does fade as I go, but I’d rather solve it than keep hoping it disappears. Next step will be experimenting with lacing — if that doesn’t work, I may have to get a little more creative.
Friday – Finally a Friday Session Sleep tracking apps are liars. Mine swears I didn’t actually fall asleep until 10:45, but I was out cold by 8:30. Aside from a quick bathroom trip at 1 AM, it was actually a solid night. Not perfect, but definitely better than the graph of doom my phone showed me.
The big win: I FINALLY made it to the gym on a Friday. First time this whole phase. I felt a little punky, like I’m still fighting something off, but I got in, knocked out the workout, and it felt good to tick that box at last. No steam today since I’m on-call — my phone and steam don’t play nice.
Fingers crossed that tomorrow’s run goes smooth. It’s the first full week of gym I’ve strung together, and that is a huge win this week.
Saturday – Two Miles, One Long Day The plan was a straight two-mile run, but the body had other ideas. I made it about three-quarters of a mile before my left calf started cramping, and with the sinus junk still hanging around, breathing wasn’t exactly smooth either. Lesson learned: some days are about grinding, not shining.
Saturday as a whole was a marathon of a different kind — Daisy’s first Taekwondo tournament as a black belt. Proud dad moment, but it meant we were out the door by 7:45 and on our feet until nearly 4:30. Food was a mess: quick cereal before leaving, a protein bar somewhere in the middle, chili cheese fries when I realized I couldn’t wait another three hours, and Cane’s chicken strips for dinner. Basically, famine followed by feast, with very little water in between.
Mood took a hit when the run went sideways, and energy yo-yo’d all day thanks to the food situation and whatever bug I’m fighting off. Still, it was a day worth showing up for — both in the gym earlier this week and cheering Daisy on all day. Progress doesn’t always look like clean splits or perfect macros, but it stacks all the same.
End of Week 5 Wrap The week closed out with some oddball measurements — weight up, waist stuck — but that’s almost certainly from Saturday’s salt bomb and barely any water. Chili cheese fries + Cane’s chicken strips after a long day on my feet with no hydration is basically a recipe for bloat.
The bigger takeaway? For the first time this phase I actually hit every gym session and every run. None of it looked perfect — some lifts felt rough, the calf cramped on Saturday’s run — but I showed up and got the work done. The tape measure and progress trend are still pointing in the right direction, and that’s the win that matters.
Still Lifting. Still Losing. Still Showing Up. (Usually)
It’s Thursday morning, and I’m feeling surprisingly good heading into the second half of the week.
Monday kicked things off with unilateral legs and shoulders, and I found my groove with controlled, balanced sets. GMB and core work flowed right after, plus an evening Kickfit session to shake out the legs. Even with Bane’s 1 a.m. “itch alarm,” I woke up feeling like my body is finally adapting to the early mornings. Mood was solid, soreness was manageable, and my energy carried me through the day.
Tuesday was supposed to be a run day, but life—and Bane’s allergy wake-ups—had other plans. I slept past the alarm and didn’t force it. Instead, I leaned into mobility and recovery work, staying consistent without digging into my recovery hole. That little adjustment kept my energy high and my mood steady.
By Wednesday, it was chest and triceps day, and I hit it hard. Machines let me push to near-max RPE without worrying about balance, and the finisher dips burned in the best way. GMB, mobility, and some wrist and elbow rehab kept my body feeling aligned. I skipped the morning steam to make time for the dog walk, but I made up for it with Kickfit in the evening—double cardio for the win.
Despite some broken sleep (thanks, itchy Bane), my energy and mood have stayed up and positive. My macros have been on point, hydration is locked in, and soreness is low. I’m still getting my rhythm with half marathon training, but I’m not frustrated. I’m hopeful to kick off my run progression next week—and when I do, the base I’ve built over these last two weeks will make that transition much smoother.
Takeaway for the week so far:
Consistency > perfection. Adjusting instead of forcing runs has kept me feeling good.
Hydration and macros matter. Hitting 200+g protein and nearly 200g carbs daily is paying off in recovery.
Sleep isn’t perfect, but I’m adapting. Naps and smart swaps are keeping my energy steady.
I can feel the momentum building. Week 2 isn’t flashy, but it’s foundational—and right now, that’s exactly what I need.
Still lifting. Still recovering. Still showing up. Usually. 💪🐾
The Recomp Chronicles 