This Week

Running was a no go this week.  Everything was crazy busy (I know, no excuse) but I ended up having to stay home from work on Monday because MIL was sick.  My youngest had an appointment with his allergist (he has asthma).  By the time we got home and ate, it was just too late.  Tuesday was a wash as well.  DW had an ultrasound to check the size of baby #3 and we didn't get home until after bed time

I was sick yesterday and I still feel a little off today.  I'm hoping to get back on the horse this weekend.  I expected this week to be hectic and a little light on the running, but the illnesses threw me for a loop.  It was kind of a wasted week as far as fitness goes.

A Belated Anniversary (and a bit of perspective)..

It was actually fun to look back at some of my original posts.  I guess exercises like this are a good way to help you remember what you were doing at a point in time and how you felt.  When I decided to start writing this thing again a couple of weeks ago, I was a little disappointed with myself.  Last June, I was at something like 235 lbs (give or take a few ounces).  A couple of weeks ago, I was at 248.  I gained 12 lbs. in a 6 month period.

Looking back at my weight when I started the blog did provide me with a bit of perspective.  Though I had lost a good deal of weight at this time last year, I was still at about 264.  Even though I gave back 12 in the course of 6 months, I am still about 16 lbs. down compared to where I was a year ago.  It is a good reminder that I am still ahead of the game and if I reign things in again that things will start to head back into a negative direction (negative being positive in this instance).  Things are headed back into the right direction.

I put myself on restriction from beer for a few weeks.  I know that alot of people will say that I am setting myself up for a failure (and I might be), but with a new baby coming right around the corner (less than a month) I can't put myself in a position to be in a state that wouldn't allow me to help my wife.  Besides, I dangled myself a little carrot to help me mentally get through this spot.  Last weekend, I broke out the homebrew kit that my wife gave me for Christmas and my first batch is sitting the carboy right now.  I'll bottle it before I know it and by the time it is ready to taste, the baby will have been been born.  Hopefully, it will b well worth the wait.  If not, I still have a decent stash of store bought stuff to temper my disappointment.

Running has also become part of my life again.  Last Saturday, I went out for the first time in months to get in a short run.  I ended up going for about 2.5 miles and I had to walk a couple of time.  My throat and legs burned and I was a little stiff for a couple of days.  No matter, I was back out on Monday afternoon and got in 5k with a couple of short walks here and there.  My throat and legs burned and I think I am still a little sore from the endeavor.  I wanted to run again on Wednesday (trying to keep an every other day schedule right now), but life decided it wasn't in the cards.  I was able to get out yesterday instead and I did another 5k, but it felt way better.  I'm still a little sore, but it was a good run.  I was able to get through it without walking and at least I know my "base" now.  A week ago, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to run a mile without fainting because it had been so long.  Now I know that I can build on my 3 miles (and sign up for a 5k if I choose) without looking like a fool.

Life is hard sometimes..

I'm bad at posting this stuff, but I think I can do it more often if I try.  I really think that it helped me when I was in losing mode before and I really have zero creative outlets with my life.  Since I haven't posted since late August, I figured it was time for an update!

I really tried to get back into the groove in September.  I even ran a couple of times and tracked here and there but nothing really stuck.  To say the least, I was the least committed to the program as I have even been from September to December.  My lowest weight during this journey was about 236ish in June.  When I weighed in last Tuesday (first "real" day back on the program in about 6 months) I weighed in at 248.  It was a  real wakeup call and I am back to being fully committed to the program and doing the things that made me successful before.  I've lost about 1.8 lbs in the last week and look forward to my next weigh in.

That said, life is freaking hard sometimes.  A previous post chronicled my crazy summer, but I'll summarize anyways and add a bit more to it!

• The wife and I moved in with her parents to save money (she bought a condo at the height of the market that we are stuck with)
• She had foot surgery and we found out a couple of days later that she was pregnant.  Honestly, we had stopped trying so it was really a surprise.
• Work started again for us and my lovely wife coached cross country this year.  With the foot, pregnancy, and getting home late a lot more responsibility fell on my shoulders.

Just when life was starting to get "normal" for us again (as normal as it is to live with parents.. thank goodness they have a big house) big things started happening.

• Our original plan was to be with her parents for about a year to save money for a down payment on a house.  After trying to refinance her condo and learning that it really wasn't going to do us any good, we decided it was time to let it go.  Obviously, our timeline at her parents house had to be extended a little bit and we changed our focus.  We decided to make our temporary living situation a tad bit more semi-permanent.
• Even though the foreclosure thing is not something we ever really wanted to do (we rented out the condo for almost 5 years) and hoped that we would be able to fix the situation, it was good to finally come to a decision and have some clarity about our future plans.
• We also found out right around this time that kiddo #3 is a girl.  Yippee!  Our first two are wonderful and precocious little boys.

After figuring out the condo thing and laying out a plan, we were doing pretty well.  I still wasn't tracking as much as I should have been and I really wasn't running but life was pretty good.  We had settled into a groove and her parents house was feeling a little bit more like home.   And then it hit us..

• My father-in-law (and his family and friends) goes dove hunting every year over labor day weekend.  When he got home, he complained that he wasn't feeling well.  Everyone kind of assumed that he was trying to pass a kidney stone based on the pain that he was having.
• A couple of weeks went by and he still wasn't feeling better.  He decided it was time to visit a doctor. Scans, blood tests, and everything else started.
• One of the scans found a blockage between his liver and pancreas that wasn't allowing bile to drain.  He started to go jaundice and lost a bunch of weight.
• He was quickly admitted to the hospital to try to insert a stent into his pancreas to allow the bile to drain.  Hospital couldn't get it in and he had to have a billiary bag put it  until things were under control.
• Was sent to a better hospital to try and get the stent in again.  This time it was successful.  While the doctors were in there, the did a biopsy on the growth.
• At the end of October, we got the news we didn't want.  The growth indicated that he had pancreatic cancer.

For those that don't know, pancreatic cancer is bad news.  According to most accounts, by the time you detect it, it's almost too late.  The survival rate is terribly low.  The good news is right now that he is doing chemo and with his stent he is doing much better than he was in October.  He has a scan again in a couple of weeks, so we will learn more.

Needless to say, I got off track with the cancer and the holidays.  I had a wonderfully bliss December that included indulging in lots of fatty foods and copious amounts of craft beers.  I think most of the twelve pounds that I gained probably happened in November and December.  

Life is bound to get crazier in the next couple of months, especially since we will be bringing home a new bundle of joy in a few weeks.  I decided it was time to start tracking again because it was one of the few things that I could control in life right now.

Back on the Horse

By my calculation, it has been damn near 5 months since I've posted anything on this blog.  I know no one is reading it (especially since I don't post new stuff anyways), but this is sort of a creative outlet for me.  It also helps keep my honest about my weight loss goals and running endeavors.  Man, alot of stuff has changed since the last time I posted.  A brief recap if you will:

• In May, I completed the Pasadena Half-Marathon in a shade under 2:30 (beat my Redlands time)
• A couple of weeks later, we moved.  It has been a bit bumpy living with parents again (long story), but things are okay.
• My wife had surgery in June to remove a bunion on her foot.  She was laid up for a good portion of the summer.
• A few days after the surgery, my wife and I found out that she was expecting.  It was a surprise to say the least (especially since things were all clear when she had her surgery a couple of days before)
• Wifey also decided to coach cross-country this year.  It's been weird for us to not see her until after 5.  Honestly can't wait until the season is over.

A bit of a confession:  With all of the changes, I pretty much gave up on tracking this summer.  I never established a good routine with it (my fault of course) and kind of lost my groove.  I didn't consistently do any of my weigh ins this summer either (but I did weigh in frequently if that makes sense).  I pretty much stopped running all summer and I'm having a hard time getting back in that groove, too.  Luckily for me, when I weighed in yesterday I was only up a 1lb from my all time low.

I'm fully committed again to tracking and I think I have about 45 more lbs. or so until I hit my goal.  It will probably take a while, but I am prepared.  

Race Report - Run Through Redlands - 4/22/2012

To celebrate the first anniversary of my 1st logged run on Nike+, I decided that it was a good time to run my first half-marathon (okay, it wasn't really to celebrate the anniversary but it sounds more dramatic). After sniffing around a bit in January, I found a race that seemed like it would be a good fit for DW and myself. The website boasted a flat and easy course and it was almost around the corner from my in-laws. Win-win right? 


About a month ago, we got an e-mail that the race was cancelled. After training for a couple of months, there was no way that I was going to sit idly and not run a race. Luckily, I found one that was the same day and it was close to home. 


It was actually a race that I had considered back around the 1st of the year when I was looking for our first half except that I knew the course was hilly and I really didn't want an overly challenging course for our first half. However, with our original race cancelled, I didn't have much of a choice.


The race was scheduled to start at 7:30a and we got to the start line at about 6:30a or so. We were able to get our bibs and shirts with no problems, so we had a bit longer to warm up than we were expecting. I think we did about a mile of slow jogging before the race. 


After watching the 10k folks start, we headed back to our start line (it was about a 1/4 mile behind the 10k start). Before we knew it, the countdown began and we were off.  The first couple of miles were pretty easy. Miles 3-8 were really hilly though. I was somewhat prepared the hills, but they still ended up being way more challenging than I expected. Getting up a hill only to go down and then back up another hill was as mentally challenging as it was physically challenging. They never seemed like they were going to end, even though I had a pretty good idea of what the elevation profile was. 


Even though the course was challenging, it was an interesting course that wound through the streets of historic Redlands (it's an old citrus town with cool Victorian houses throughout the area). There were plenty of volunteers throughout the course and many of the folks who lived in the area watched the race from their front yards. Some of them also passed out orange slices along the way. There were plenty of aid stations with both water and gatorade along the route. It was really cool to see the community so involved.


I hit my GUs about miles 4, 8, and 11 (or so). I don't know if they really help or not, but they seem to make me feel better. In addition to the aid stations, I also had my handheld bottle and I am very glad that I brought it. The weather ended up being a little bit on the warm side for this time of the year (even by SoCal standards) and it was pretty humid for us (50%, some of you midwesterners might scoff at that but it is extremely humid for us). My shirt (tech shirt) and shorts were soaked through by the end of the 1st mile. 


By mile 11 or 12, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I ended having to walk a few times (mostly the hills) and I walked again part way through mile 12. I was exhausted but I pushed on through to the end. 


I ended up finishing in 2:33:30 with a 11:43 pace. Even though my recent 10k times were much better (my pace was 10:30 for those), I knew that it wasn't going to happen for a half. My goal was to finish in around 2:30 so I was actually okay with my time. The hills and weather slowed me down a bit, but I accomplished something that wasn't even on my radar a year ago. My goal when I first started running was to finish a 5k without having to walk. I've done that and more in the last year. 


On a side note, I heard from many experienced runners after the race (its always after isn't it) that Redlands is one of the toughest races they have done. I will say that the race was organized fantastically and the community involvement was great. I'm not sure that I will run it again, but if anyone is SoCal is looking for a challenge I would recommend it.

Double Double - Yummy!

So I have parent conference/open house night tonight at work.  I'll probably talk to about 5 parents and spend the rest of the time yapping with my colleagues.  I would much rather be home, but I guess I can't complain too much.  Except that I won't see my boys today and there haven't been very many days that I haven't seen them.  So it goes.

I live about 30 miles from work and had a meeting after school, so I ended up not going home after school.  I had to grab something to eat and I decided that a Double Double from In-n-Out sounded like a great idea.  And it was.  So were the fries.

This is one of the reasons that  really do like being on WW.  The meal cost me 29 points (for the ladies like my wife who get 26 points a day.. GASP!).  Guess what?  I still had 31 points left for the day.  I had the points and was able to enjoy an every once and a while treat.  It isn't the best choice but it was a damn tasty one.

Funny thing is, this is the second time I had fries this week.  On Monday night, I went out with my friends and the sandwich I ordered came with fries.  My buddy (Mister Deprive Myself) got a side salad instead of fries.  I may have had fries twice this week, but Monday night was the first time in weeks that I indulged in the crispy golden potatoes that were handed down from on high.  Mister Deprive Myself is on a self-imposed diet of sorts and pretty much said that he was "giving up" fries.  I told him there was no freaking way that I was giving up fries.  I just don't eat them all that often (except for this week).

I guess I just trust myself enough now that I know that a small order of fries from time to time isn't going to derail me.

Flogging Molly and Binge Drinking

First, I must say that I had a fabulous time at the Flogging Molly concert on Friday night.  It was everything that I could have hoped for and more.  Unfortunately, my apprehensions about drinking too many beers did come true.  I overindulged a little bit, but I was kind of prepared for that and I'm actually okay with it.

I gained .6 lbs this week.  I blame it mostly on the drinking on Friday night.  Even when I have the points to drink, I still post little gains when I go overboard.  Friday just confirmed what I had already known.  If I plan on drinking, I better also plan on posting a gain.