Honesty

I've not been honest.  I've tracked my food....sorta.   Yes, I go on every day.  Yes, I put my food in.  Or rather I put in my 'plans'.    I have been living in the delusion that I'm doing OK because I'm tracking.  However, I have to admit.....when things go awry and I allow stress to overtake me and I eat something extra......or when my plans don't go the way I want and I eat something other than planned.....or when.....yeah, best laid plans have not been my friend, I don't ALWAYS go back and change my food on myfitnesspal.  This is BAD.  I am hurting NO ONE but myself!

I've struggled with my exercise in the last week or so also.   Yesterday morning I got up early and got ready for my bike ride...and had a flat tire on my road bike.  I struggled to change the tube the last time and eventually had to go into a bike shop and look like a retard and ask for assistance. (my brother was out of town).  I have no problem changing the tires on my Trek or even my husbands trek...but this road bike KILLS me.  I never got it changed...and I've talked to my brother and tomorrow night I'll be going up to figure out what 'concept' I'm missing...because SOMETHING is not clicking for me.  SO my ride yesterday went out the window.  By the time I thought about switching and riding on the canal on my Trek I didn't have enough time.

I woke up this morning.  I rolled out of bed.  I couldn't ride so I was determined to RUN.    And then I heard it......pouring rain.  GRRRR  So no exercise today.   The saving grace for TODAY is that I have zumba tonight and yes, I am packed and ready to zumba after work.

Honesty...I ate an extra piece of breakfast pizza this morning.  I have already gone on and adjusted the food intake for the day.  I'm good.  I've got this!   Honesty with myself is the most important thing!!!

I did it for the donut!

August 9th...I have mentioned that date over and over in my posts in conjunction with running.  I had planned to run at least three 5k's this year.  The possible culmination (yeah, I'm already looking for another one...so it won't be the culmination)  would be the Do-nut Alley Rally in my hometown of Hagerstown, MD.    As soon as I heard about the fact that the local legendary do-nut shop sponsored a 5k I knew I wanted to run it.....I knew this months and months before I ever ran a step.  So August 9th was the date that I was looking for...the day that I would run the do-nut alley rally.

I was worried the weeks building up to this 5k....I had this pesky pain caused by the plantars fasciitis that I had been diagnosed with a month earlier.   I knew I wasn't going to run it to set any personal records...that was not my plan.  My plan was to simply 'run' and finish.  (seriously, I hadn't run more than 5 miles TOTAL in the previous 6 weeks).   My foot wasn't/isn't better so I wasn't sure how it was going to work.  Stupidly, I canned pickles the night before the race....so my foot took a beating with that! (yes, my foot ACHED after the hours of standing). The icing on the cake?   The weather forecast was HORRIBLE!  I was determined.  This was NOT a race I was sitting out.  Rain or shine....ache or pain...I was RUNNING!

Did it rain????   It rained on and off all day long. (this was an evening run).  It looked clear when we made our way to the do-nut shop (yes, this was held outside of the local legendary do-nut shop!).  I picked up my swag bag and got my timing chip.  And then it started to rain.  Yup, we were all huddled under umbrellas while we waited.  Sherry and I were not to be deterred....wet or dry we were running!  (pardon the crappy picture, I was dodging raindrops and of course my cell phone was in a baggie to protect it...so it wasn't exactly the best conditions for a picture!)

The rain however, did stop with about 15 minutes left until race time!   WEEEEE.   We all posed for some extra pictures.  And passed a bit more time.  I had the pleasure to run this race with Sherry, Paula and her daughter Alex.  :-)   

I even had time to take a picture of a tattoo that really intrigued Todd (it's a Beatles tattoo).  Turns out the tattoo was on a gal that both Sherry and Paula went to school with.  You can see that my shirt is already pretty wet and the run hasn't even started!  (I think we may be running a mud run in a team with this gal!)

We moved up to the start line and waited for the gun to go off (well, really there was no gun....or maybe we were just talking and missed it!)    One last picture and then we were off!

 We started out and I cautioned Sherry to pace it.  I reminded her that we did NOT have to keep pace with the  people that had started out beside us.  We needed to keep a pace that we comfortable with us.   Within a half of block or so the crowd thinned out and we settled down into a comfortable pace.  Ufortunately, we lost track of Paula and Alex after the first quarter of a mile. We kept a comfortable pace, using my HRM as a good guide to where we needed to be running to keep us from wearing ourselves out.   At one point I was breathing heavy and Sherry threw my own words back at me and said "I hear you breathing, but are you dying?"   She knew what my answer would be...that NO, I wasn't dying.  So I KNEW what her response would be (the same thing I've been telling her)  "then keep going!"  The race course was actually ingenious.  We weaved through some roads and then into a grave yard.....and we did at least 2 of the miles of this run inside the graveyard (no public roads to have to close..no cars no nuttin').  As we got to the graveyard I saw my brother and his family standing along side the road at the entrance gates.  They cheered for Sherry and I!  It was awesome!   We waved and said hi and trucked on.   No stopping for us!   We weaved into the graveyard and pretty soon saw two more people on the side of the road.  Mom and dad stood there cheering for me!  As we ran by I introduced Sherry to mom and dad and they started cheering for her also.   We ran on.  Mom and dad moved to a different spot in the graveyard and they waited for us to run a mile or so and cheered for us as we finished up the loop through the graveyard.  As we left the gates and reentered the public roads my brother, sister in law and there three kids were there cheering us on again!  Motivated and knowing the end was in sight, we waved said hi and bye and kept going.

As we turned onto the final stretch before we turned onto the finish line I looked down for the first time and took note of the time.  It was only 8:02.  Uhhh the race started at 7:30 or thereabouts.  So we were with less than a half mile from the end and we were at only 32 minutes.  I chewed on that thought in my head and within a minute or two told Sherry about my thought that we just may have a chance to be under 40 minutes or at the very least she had a VERY good chance of setting  personal record for herself.  That was all that was said.   We reached the final corner and turned onto the last stretch. I could see the finish line.  It took me a few seconds to register that the time on the big clock was saying 39 and some change.  I made one comment to Sherry.  It was something along the lines of  "Oh no, I refuse to cross the line over 40 minutes."   I then instructed her to haul A$$ if she wanted to beat the 40 minute mark.  Sherry took off like a bat out of hell and I followed along a few paces behind.

My official time was 39:23.  I'm actually REALLY good with that time.  I was running on a bum foot after not running for weeks.   My PR for a 5k was the 38:20.  So I only lost 1 minute and three seconds during the last month of hell.  NOT bad.  Yes, I had originally planned to run the Do-nut Alley Rally in 36 minutes or less...but life changed and I rolled with it!

Of course we had to take the obligatory post race picture!

After our picture taking extravaganza, we headed down the alley toward the do-nut shop (yes, the do-nut shop is in the alley....stop laughing, these donuts are HEAVENLY and well worth the trip down the alley!) .   It was do-nut heaven festival.  The smell of freshly cooked donuts wafted through the air (this is a normal scent in the alley).  But the best part?  About every 2-3 minutes the back door of the do-nut shop opened and out would come a person carrying trays of donuts.  They walked through the crowds and we were able to simply grab a warm freshly baked do-nut as they walked by!  

Why yes!  I do believe I DID have a do-nut.  I can not tell a lie.  I chose a cream filled chocolate iced do-nut and boy oh boy did it ever taste GOOD!  

I even have proof!!!!!!!!  (although I don't have a picture of the chocolate do-nut that I took a huge bite out of before I gave it to Todd!)

Ahhh....so what's up next?   Possibly the Muddy Mamma raising money for Girls Inc.  Or maybe a 5k raising money for Habitat for Humanity.  (both of those are in September).  Hmmm, there is a breast cancer run in Early October.  And let's not forget the specter of a turkey trot again.  Choices choice choices!

Restart and reinvent

The last two days I've lost control.  I've lost control of my eating.  I know what happened.  I made cookies.  I made the cookies for Todd...they were for his band practice and they are for a band that has been working with him for a while (I do that for long term clients sometimes).  I also brought some into work.   I made them on Wednesday night.  Cookie dough is a HUGE attraction for me.  HUGE.  So yes, I had some cookie dough.  Normally I am only irresistably drawn to the warm ooey gooey cookies......except for my banana peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Uhhh yeah, those cookies are like crack!  And of course that's the cookie I made.  So out of control cookie consumption on wednesday evening and it carried into Thursday.  Uhhh NOT good.  But I recognize it and the problem WILL be rectified!
 

Songs are very powerful.  They make me smile, they make me cry that transport me back to a different time and place and evoke memories and feelings.  Lately on the one station that we listen to at work they have been playing a LOT of REO Speedwagon….in particular one song “Heard it from a Friend”.  This isn’t a bad thing.  It’s a good song.  It transports me back through the years.  Each time I hear this song I am transported back to a time where I am roughly 20 years old and I’m in my car driving around Fort Wayne , Indiana .  I am attending college and myself and my friends are out having fun.  The warmth and acceptance of the friends that are in the car with me is evident in the feelings that flow over me.  However, more importantly, for a few seconds I forget that I have become the jaded 40 year old woman that has had her dreams and hopes squashed like a bug on the windshield of life. For those few moments I am the idealistic young woman.  For that brief flash of time I feel as if the world is still at my fingertips.  I am positive that my world will turn out exactly as I had always dreamed. 

 

The real world comes crashing back down upon me.  I won’t lie.  Those few moment of memories and feelings that the song evokes fades. Life wasn’t what I planned. 

 

At zumba the other night a girl walked in…flush from the beauty and fresh love of her very recent wedding and the honeymoon that she had just returned from only two days earlier.  I choke down the bitter pill of her happiness and wish her well .  I try not to cry when she talks about how “I just got hired so I’m now officially a teacher too”  She then says “It’s all falling into place”.   Well, it didn’t fall into place.  Yes, I eventually got married…I was also full of happy love….but it’s been a rough rough patch for quite a while.  It wasn’t the ‘fall into place fairytale life”.   I counted back on face book.  I’ve had no less than 6….friends have babies in the last two to three months.  SIX.   One more had a baby that is not included in the six, simple because I’m not friends with her on facebook and 2 friends who have recently announced pregnancies.  I would not want them to hide their births or good news from me.  But it HURTS.  That was MY fairytale.  That was MY dream….that’s been dashed.  It hurts.

 

So what the heck does this have to do with a weight loss journal?   Everything.  Good weight and good healthy habits are grounded in having our whole life in balance.  So it has EVERYTHING to do with it.  But even more importantly I need to turn my life changes into a full all encompassing change.  This is my chance to reinvent myself.  I don’t know what kind of person I want to be.  For 40 years I wanted very specific things.  I’ve dreamt for all of my life about some very specific dreams.  It’s not easy to change those dreams. It’s not easy to just all of a sudden have new dreams.  But I know this…..there is no better time like NOW to reinvent who I am!   A new, better than ever

 

Tingling and Alive

I woke up this morning and I knew that I was going for a bike ride.  It was scheduled.  It was on the books.  I was doing it.   I had made plans with Todd for the morning, all centered upon my bike ride.  I was going to ride early and on the way home, I would stop at the local ‘gathering hole’ where Todd would meet me and where we would breakfast together.  After breakfast, he would continue on to the studio (work) and I would bike the remaining 3 miles home…where I would have a bit of time to relax and get ready for my work day.  All planned….and I woke up ready to roll with that plan.  And then I stood up to go to the bathroom and my head felt like it was going to totally explode.  Woo hooo, what a fun thing to discover upon awakening.   I stumbled to the bathroom.  I listened for the sound of rain…..I wanted to hear the sound of rain so that I had a valid excuse to not go out riding.   I heard nothing…but made my way back to bed, hoping that a bit of rest would ease up the pressure in my head.  Seriously?  

 

I laid there thinking.  I knew that if I didn’t ride that I would castigate myself all day. I knew I had to push through and ride.  I changed the plans.  We went for an early breakfast where I downed some ibuprofen and some diet Pepsi (double whammy….meds and the breakfast drink of the Gods).  When I got back to the house, I prepped as much as I could for my day (packed my lunch) and then I headed out.  Yes, my headache had eased off to near nothing.   I checked my tires and headed out.   Ahhh the feeling of the wind on my face……the birds chirping…..the overcast skies….the sprinkles of rain.   What a feeling of being ALIVE!

 

Excuses.  We are so full of them. Headache, rain, sore foot, busy schedule, time of the month, too tired, to achy…..the list goes on and on and on.   But when we push through the excuses and carry through with our plans to exercise and better ourselves, the world opens up and it’s an amazing place!    I would have missed the euphoric feeling of a great workout.  I would have missed the gorgeous scenery.  I would have missed seeing the young girl selling cucumbers, trying to earn enough  money to buy something for herself. (yes, I swung around and ended up buying a bushel of cucumbers…..I’ll be making pickles…cinnamon….icicle…..dill…..and we didn’t plant cucumbers for some odd reason……ok ok ok, the girls brother works with me…so he delivered the produce to me at work…and since I had no money, I’m sending the money home with him).  I would have missed SO much!

 

Even more than that feeling of actually living, I would have denied myself the opportunity to take a step toward the ‘me’ that I want to be.  Yes, I know where I want to be and I know that it takes work.  If I would have skipped my ride and listened to those gazillion excuses I would have missed an opportunity to move closer to my goals.   Every day is an opportunity to move closer to my goals and dreams.  I don’t want to waste ANY days!

A better me

Losing weight the CORRECT way is a lifestyle change. It is a total change in how we view our lives and the world around us.   To really make life altering changes that result in weight loss that is maintained, we have to look deeply into our lives.  It’s not just eating and exercise. It is the very fiber of our lives that we have to evaluate.  

 

Obesity, or even just being overweight has a profound impact on how we live our lives.  Some of us had circumstances and situations in our lives that caused us to turn to food to bring on obesity….those circumstances impacted us.   Others of us are simply fighting genetics and a love of food that has caused a weight issue in our lives.  Regardless of if we are dealing with one issue or two issues or even untold other scenarios about how obesity affects us, know that it DOES affect.

 

For me, I don’t know of any deep seated reason for my obesity.  Maybe some psychologist out there would beg to differ, but I feel I’m a product of genetics and growing up in a family that loved food. Food was an integral part of our lives.  It got out of control with me and left me morbidly obese.  Yes, 315 pounds (my highest) was morbidly obese.  (I’m still considered obese…..I have about 16 pounds until I can be considered in the ‘overweight’ category. There will be much celebration when I reach that weight!)   I began to live my life as a fat person.  There are things I’ve wanted to do, that I didn’t do because “I’m Fat.”   There were places I would have gone but I felt unworthy because, “I’m fat”.   I let the fat eat at me from the inside.  I let it rule my life.

 

I started reading a book the other day.  I actually picked up the book because it was free (gotta love the free books for my kindle…I’ve read some amazing reads, and admittedly some pretty lame ones too…LOL) and because it was about running.  It is called Running the Edge: Discover the Secrets to Better Running and a Better life.  It’s by Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano .   I hadn’t even gotten past the first chapter and I was highlighting sections of the book because it was speaking to me.  Seriously…I NEVER highlight books that I’m reading (ok, I have once before because I wanted to see how the feature worked on my kindle…..I’m a geek…what of it.?)   It’s all tied to running…but it is stuff that goes much deeper than running.

 

So my thoughts from this book. 

 

Mediocrity.  I have settled for a life of mediocracy.  I have not pushed myself to be GREAT.  I have not tried.  I have just settled in and let life wash over me.   I have become complacent with everything being good enough.   I don’t want just ‘good enough’ anymore.  I want spectacular.  I want awesome.  I want over the top superb!   I need to take control of my own life.  CONTROL.   That means not only in the food I eat and the exercise I do….but also in how I spend my spare time.  How I approach my finances.  How I attempt to live my life.  I have control over my life and I’m no longer going to sit back and allow life to happen…I want to push forward and MAKE it happen.

 

The second thing that stuck out is a bit of a story that these two authors shared. They talked about how early on in their friendship that they decided that the adage that everyone uses so much “someday I want to…” was not allowed in their vocabulary.  They made allowances for some things that it really is not feasible to do at that point and realize that sometimes it is acceptable to say “someday I want to….”  (for example….”someday I want to have kids”   or  in my case… “someday we will finish our patio and get our hot tub in working order”….it’s acceptable to say that because right now it is not a possibility due to money constraints.)   But overall,  all those things that I you say “someday I want to…” needs to be DONE.  They talked about how one day one of them said  “someday I want to learn to scuba dive”  so they went right out and signed up for scuba diving classes.  But they also talked about how one of them had said “I’ve always wanted to ride my bike the 50 miles to my parents house.  So 2-3 hours later on old ratty bikes (one of them borrowed) they were on the road in the blazing sun riding for 50 miles.  They did it.  The conquered and they conquered it in a blaze of glory.   They did not wait until the next day.  THEY DID it.  The were LIVING.

 

I want to live my life that way.  I don’t want to be mediocre.  I want to live to my fullest and push for greatness….and I want to LIVE!   My weight may hold me back on some things (seriously..I think they have weight limits for sky diving…which I’m still pondering….so right now I may not qualify for it…but I may qualify for it in a month down the line….should I decide that I’m serious about that thought).  

 

This morning I went out running.  I learned a valuable lesson.   Cheap ‘knock off’ KT tape is NOT a good choice.  I may have saved 8 bucks…but it was not a good savings….considering I went through more pieces of tape just trying to get it to stick to my skin in the first place (no I’m not a grease ball) and then halfway through my run I could feel that it had totally popped free.  SO off to the pharmacy on my lunch break to buy the REAL stuff.  I have been using the KT Pro…..the local pharmacy sells just the straight KT tape. I’m going to try that next.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll be back to the pro stuff. 

 

I ran 2.5 miles. I would have run longer, but I ran out of time.  Yeah, I got a late start. Seriously, I blame it on the off brand KT tape….messing with that had to have killed all my extra time!  I felt good and I’m going to say that I’m ok to run the Donut Alley Rally on Friday night.

 

So my exercise plans for this week.

 

Monday:   Run-  morning

                  Exercise bike- evening (optional…depending on time and opportunity)

Tuesday:  Road bike-  Morning

                 Zumba- evening

Wednesday:  Road bike – Morning

                 Exercise bike- Evening (optional…depending on time and opportunity)

Thursday:  Rest day

                Walk- evening

Friday:   Donut Alley rally Race

Saturday:  Road bike

Sunday:  Run AND road Bike

 

I wanted to try to do my higher impact things earlier in the week to save my foot for my race.   Even though I’m not running the race to set any PR, I do want to finish it without having to hobble or even crawl across the finish line…which means at this time babying my foot.  So that’s my plan. J  Lets see if the weather cooperates!

Weekend control

Day two of August is here.  I'm doing ok with my eating.  I really was just a thing of saying "I'm going to do it" and actually doing it.  Todd and I even stopped for ice cream at one point and I managed to have my ice cream and eat it too.  Yes, I had to adjust something in the budget for later in the day...but I managed.  And my weight has dropped quite a bit. (yeah, I'm sure some of my weight being up on Monday was due to water retention due to the chinese food, mexican food and pizza that I consumed in the days leading up to the weigh in...ohh and the lack of water and flood of Diet soda).  So it's working.

I've worked out pretty regularly this week.  I've been happy with what I've done.  Ok, I'm happy that I worked out every day.  I'm not happy because I want to do more....

The weekend is upon me.  I personally find it so much easier to eat 'right' on weekdays. I"m in a routine.  Routines are good.  On weekends life goes upside down and I have to loosen my reigns on the control sometimes.  Wait, wait wait.......I am ALWAYS still in control.  No one forces food into my mouth. (well not usually...Todd has been known to shove snacks in my mouth.).   Yes, I am in control.  I may have more limited options and I may have to use more willpower, but I'm still totally in control!

Don't Wait

Finally....July is over.   I was waiting with bated breath for that horrible month to be behind me.  I know that I'm still dealing with the fallout of July, which is why I sat with my foot on ice after zumba last night.  (and why I will roll my foot on that same frozen bottle of water...refrozen of course after running tonight.)   I couldn't wait for July to be over so that I could have a fresh start.

But I didn't wait until August to have my fresh start.  I planned my eating and kept it totally under control on July 30th.  I also ran on the 30th.  I carried that trend on with July 31.  I ate within my caloric budget and went to zumba.  I am now rolling into that fresh start with two days of 'fresh start' under my belt before the new month really even gets going.

So many times we say "I'll start on Monday"  or "I'll start with the new month, or the new year or whatever"   There is no time like NOW to start.  No excuses.    Excuses don't help us reach our dreams and goals.   Going out after those goals and dreams are what causes them to happen.

So today starts my next monthly challenge to propel myself 200 miles.  That's 50 miles a week.  I typically do about 10-15 on my bike...about 3 times a week.....I'm hoping to get back to where I was with running which was about 10-12 miles a week.  Plus random walks interspersed through the week.   So I should be be able to accomplish this goal!

DONUTS

Sometimes things happen for a reason.  Seriously, they do!  I’m going to just say one last time…July has been the month from H E double hockey sticks!    It’s been a disaster emotionally and physically.  I ate and ate and ate.  I gained a total of 1 pound for the month of July.  It could have been worse (thank God for the flu).  I can use excuses about the restricted exercise.  I can use excuses about the emotions that kicked me A$$.  I can do all of that, but I have to also admit that I was like a shark in  chum filled water.  It was a feeding frenzy that grew a little more crazy each day.   No more.  I want to get to my goal and I know how to do it!

When the doctor told me I had a debilitating and life threatening injury that would prevent me from running or doing anything high impact I was bummed out.  My running was progressing.  I was seeing progress in my running.  I was having some fast paced runs. Seriously, I was starting to rival Jackie Joyner Kercee  in speed.  (shut up….. I know that I’m old and out of touch with the current stuff….but that’s the only runner I could think of!)  I was flying on my runs.  I was even breaking a 12 minute mile on some of my good runs.  OK, so maybe I was only rivaling her in my head, but the victory to me was just the same.  It was only a few months earlier that I couldn’t even run 60 seconds without feeling as if I was going to collapse in a heap of sweaty fat on the side of the road.  I had gotten to the point where I could run straight without stopping. I had pushed myself through the ‘You can’t do this’ mentality and starting just doing it.  I was starting to see my average pace drop.  I was DOING IT.    I had broken my goal of running a 5k in less than 40 minutes…in fact I blew my goal out of the water.   I was registered for the Krumpes Donut Alley Rally.   In case you don’t know what Krumpes is….Krumpes has been a tradition in my family for longer than I’ve been around.  My parents would leave church on Sunday nights (way back int he 70's)  and swing down to this little alley donut shop that was open from late evening until early morning and pick up donuts.  When my parents left Hagerstown to go to Bible College and work in the ministry as a preacher and preachers wife, we would still visit family in Hagerstown,  Krumpes donuts were a staple on each visit.  Eventually we moved back to this area and my brother introduced his kids to the love of a Krumpe Donut.  So when I heard that Krumpes was doing a 5k I KNEW it was one I wanted to do.  In fact, I wanted to do this run before I even started running seriously.  This is the epitome of running. (and they BETTER give me a free donut after I flail around acting like I’m running!)  Anyway, I registered for this run a few months back.  In fact, this is the run that I based my future running off of.  I’ve said over and over that I will give running a go until August 9^th…..I will reevaluate at that time.  Ever wonder why August 9^th?   Well, because that’s the date of the Donut Alley Rally!  I wanted to do this run.  I NEEDED to do this run.  So when the doctor told me on July 3^rd that I shouldn’t be doing anything that was remotely high impact and to even limit walking for 4-6 weeks I was panicked.  That put me RIGHT at the Donut Alley Rally.  I waited….I watched.  I tried the sleeping boot.  I tried the shoe inserts, I bought the slip over arch supports.  I started taping my foot.  I iced and simultaneously rolled my foot on a frozen water bottle.  I stopped wearing heels.  I stopped any activity that caused an impact.  About a week or two I bought new running shoes.  I was getting antsy to recommence with running.   Yesterday I started to run.  My foot isn’t 100% well…but I’ve got a race to run.   I’m only giving myself a week and a half to prepare for it after exactly 5 weeks away from running.  So while I talked for a while about aiming for a new PR on the Donut Alley Rally, I will be running it to just plain and simply run it.  My goal is to finish it at this point.   

Oh, and my reevaluation about running….I’m going to continue.  

This upcoming race stressed me out for a while.  I wanted to run it so bad and I sat nursing an injury….trying to learn how to manage it and cause it to ease up.  I eventually said, ok…the event is raising money for a good cause one that escapes my memory at this time, so my money isn’t going to be wasted if I don’t run it.   That made me feel a bit better.   But this morning when I was running I realized that being preregistered for this race was a good thing…just as having the injury was a good thing.

The injury was good because it forced me to get out on my bike and push through the pain of ridinga road bike versus a mountain bike.  This was made easier since biking was my sole form of exercise (that could be because I was too lazy to make it to the gym to use the elliptical….oops).   Being preregistered for the race has motivated me to push myself.  Some may say I started back too early….but seriously, how long must one wait…because I know the old Maryfran would have waited until 6 years after the last twinge of pain had left my body.

Yesterday morning's run left me with 4.09 miles left to complete in July.  There was NO FREAKING WAY that I was going to miss my mileage goal by 4.09 miles.  I knew that Wednesday was to be a zumba day and that there was a good chance that I would get a short walk in with my husband but nothing NEAR the 4.09 miles….so I got off work at 6, ran to the pharmacy to pick up my husbands medicine, went to a store and picked him up a snack and then stopped him off his snack, drink and meds.  Then I rushed home to gear up like Lance Armstrong (albeit one without drugs in my system) and head out to get a few miles under my belt. Oh wait, it was getting late so I ended up gearing up and riding my exercise bike like a wild woman.  7.5 miles down..and my mileage goal is COMPLETE!!!!  YAY!!!!!


This morning....weighed myself and my weight is DROPPIING!   ~~cue angels singing~~

How quickly the mind forgets

I headed out this morning to really test out my foot.  Yes, I still have aches in my heel.  I am accepting that I have plantars fasciitis and that means that I will have to learn how to deal with that.  It's a thing of learning to manage I do believe.  SO I'm learning to manage.  I also know that getting the weight off of my body will help the issue!

So I headed out.  I was in my new bright blue shoes.  (ahhh how cool, the shoes match my current KT tape  (which you can't see in this picture).  Not for long...I'm switching to PINK tape after the blue is gone!     I woke up and started to get ready.  It was exactly 5 weeks to the morning since I last ran.  Wow....I was out of practice.  I used to get ready in a few minutes.  Today I was running in circles.  I got dressed then remembered my HRM.  I got that on and then taped my foot (that was my first priority) and headed to the kitchen.  I then remembered the need for my ipod.  I got that and was ready to head out and realized that...DUH, I need headphones.  Yeah, it was NUTS.   Finally I was out and in the car.    I was halfway to where I planned to run and I whacked myself in the forehead....DUH, I forgot my hat!   The hat is important for two reasons.  One, it keeps the sweat somewhat under control as it holds the sweat (yeah, my hats all have sweat stains on them...what of it?).  Secondly, my hair is shorter on top and the hat keeps my hair loosely under control.   Shortly after that discovery I figured out that I didn't have sunglasses either.  OH well......such is life. 


I started running.  I felt pretty good.  I ran for 2.57 miles.  It wasn't fast by any rate.  The five weeks off slowed me down a bit (however, in fairness I wasn't trying to run for speed, I was running just to test the waters).  I felt good.  I probably could have gone further, but I didn't want to push it.   I figured go shorter and see how my body reacts.  Yes, that is me after my run...really bad picture..but you can see the sun behind me (I was running toward the sun of course for part of it) so thus the need for the sunglasses...you can also see my out of control hair!  GRRR


So I was so discombobulated with my preparations that I made another error.....Yeah, what do you notice wrong with the picture to the right?????  Let me give you a hint...the picture was taken AFTER my run.  Yes, by golly.....I forgot to turn on my HRM when I started to run.  DUH.  Ok ok ok, so 5 weeks off threw me off my stride.  I've got this.  My planning and ease will come back!


I have had a goal of 150 miles in the month of July.  I am now about 3 miles from completing that goal.  My plan is to go out tonight on my bike to finish off that challenge.  And yes, I'm setting the challenge again in August.  Only I'm aiming for 200 miles!  :-) 

Soo, I officially had my weigh in this week...and I'm up for 1 pound in the month of July.  Yeah, my weigh in this week was NOT pretty.  I will say that I had chinese and mexican and I've been drinking a LOT of diet soda...so my body has been overloaded on sodium....but you know what...that's excuses.  I also ate not the greatest!   No looking back....looking forward to being back on my game!

The affect of our words

July.....wow, what a month. (and yes I am fully cognizant of the fact that it's not over yet).  At the very beginning of July I was officially diagnosed with Plantars Fasciitis and of  a little lessor of  concern Tarsal Tunnel.  I was told to limit my activities that were high impact.  That was followed up with a bout with the flu/food poisoning (the jury is out about which I had...all I know is that I was absolutely miserable!), on the heels of  that was dealt a huge emotional blow that has left me reeling.  (feel free to imagine and conjure up a story...tame or off the hook spicy...it's all good....imagination is a good thing  ha ha ha).  It's wreaked havoc on my exercise. Seriously, an injury/ache that limited my exercise, the flu that wiped me out and emotions that made me feel like I wasn't worthy of the time needed to invest in this process and new lifestyle.  What a bad combination.  July honestly would have been a TOTAL bust for me weight loss wise (that's assuming I don't gain for this last weigh in that will occur early next week) if it weren't for the fact that I had the flu and I puked some weight off of my body.

Exercise was wonky and lets face it...I'm a food addict.   Did I mention that there have been a lot of emotions involved in the last month?   Well there was.  I barely controlled my eating..there were a few stellar days of eating.  There were a few crazy days of eating.  There were a lot of borderline days of eating.


I went out riding today.  I procrastinated for quite some time this morning.  I was reading blogs and playing around on my computer.  Finally I pushed my computer aside and said, "no more until you go riding."   So I pushed myself out.  Oh yeah, my mind was screaming all sorts of excuses at me...but I ignored them!   I not only went for a ride....I pushed myself for an extra few hellish hilly miles.  OK ok ok, I have to admit it.  My rule is to only unclip and put my feet down if I have to at crossroads/stop signs.  Other than my little problem on the ride with my brother I have been able to hold onto that 'rule' .  Until today.  Yeah, I was on my 'new section' that was hilly.  VERY hilly.  I could see the tail end...the last stop sign before I got back to more familiar territory .  I was struggling up the last hill...out of the saddle...in the saddle..it didn't make a difference....my legs were SHOT at that point.  I went slower and slower, struggling.  I went so slow that I started to go over.   Go over as in FALL DOWN.   Yes, I was of course clipped in.  I saw my life flash before my eyes as I tilted over.  For a split second I thought that I was going to have a date with the pavement.  Somehow instinct took over and I kicked my heel outward, popping me out of the clip and at one of the last possible minutes put my foot on the ground and caught myself.   I rested a few minutes and I'm embarrassed to say that I walked the last 10 feet up the feel (yeah, I was THAT close and I have NEVER walked up a hill...so I ruined THAT perfect record)  Regardless, my ride was done and I DID get back on the bike and went the last 5 miles to get myself home.  :-)

Today as I was slogging up the biggest hill I encountered a motorcycle with two riders came up behind me.  I vaguely knew they were there (hello, you can hear them coming).  They were out cruising and enjoying the historic views surrounding my town.  They slowed down beside me and the woman on the back looked at me and yelled. "This is one hell of a hill, you are doing GREAT!"  They both gave me thumbs up and went on their way.   I had been riding out of my saddle...which is the most difficult thing for me right now, I don't do it too much and it....well I haven't mastered it...it HURTS and my breathing gets out of whack.  SO I was out of my saddle struggling up this hill and their words helped me get to the top.  I don't know who they are...but they meant so much to me today (too bad they weren't there a mile or so later when I was struggling up the hill that undid me...haa haa haa)    Seriously, those words from a stranger meant sooo much to me.

Early this year when I was spending hours out on the battlefield pushing through the C25K training I frequently say a man.  He drove a white truck with West Virginia tags and has a very short fat poodle (seriously, this dog is as wide as she is tall).  I was doing intervals so I was walking a lot of the time and got a chance to stop and pet the dog.  This man NEVER failed to talk to me.   Then I hit the  big wall that you hit during that C25K training..that first 20 minute straight run was a rough one.  I was doing it and pushing through the last few minutes, determined to finish it no matter what.  This man walked by me and said "I've been watching you the last weeks.  You are doing it and it makes me proud and happy to watch your transformation".  I said thanks and didn't even stop to pet the pup because I HAD to finish that straight run to prove it to myself.   I saw him numerous times after that.  We always said hi and I always gave his doggy some attention.   I need to thank him for his words.......they meant so much.  (Unfortunately, after I made the decision to thank him...I've not run into him!)

So compliment people.......encourage people........it has a PROFOUND affect!

PS  I WILL conquer that hill very SOON!!

Jack of all Trades, Master of None

In my personal life I have taken on that roll.  I love so many crafts.  I love to quilt, so I will start quilting. I’m in my glory and gung ho to quilt forever.  I make plans and forge full steam ahead.  But then a few days….or a few weeks…..or maybe even a few months later and I get bored with quilting and something else catches my eye. Cross stitch!  Yes, I LOVE cross stitching.  So I immerse myself in that for a few hours, days …….   Until I get bored or until something else catches my eye….oh my word, Scrapbooking.  So much Fun! There are so many things….and eventually I do come around full cycle and pick up the quilting again, or pick up the cross stitch or crochet.  However,   I flit from hobby to hobby.  It could be a lack of attention span. (ha ha ha)    Because of this, I call myself a Jack of All Trades, Master of None.  I don’t really ‘master’ anything.  I dabble with lots.  I have a very good working knowledge of a lot of different things. I’m a true renaissance woman!  Sometimes that bothers me, it would be awesome to excel at one thing versus being good at a lot.  But that’s how I roll.  I can’t change my nature, my personality nor who I am. 

 

Earlier this year, I started to really pour myself into exercise.  I was riding, running, zumba-ing, playing tennis with my husband (or at least doing something that WE called playing tennis), walking with a friend.  I was doing so much and I was loving every second of it. (cue the grim reaper music) Then I had the dreaded foot issue crop up in late June.  I was advised of a few options for exercise.  The main options on the table were to use an elliptical, ride a bike or go swimming.   Swimming was off the table as a regular thing as you need access to a pool…and in fact I’ve not been able to swim at all.  I had grand plans to get to the gym to use the elliptical, but that didn’t happen either.  I did however get on my bike.  And I struggled to maintain any continuity with biking.  (granted, I had some blows during that time…in the form of hurling my guts up one week….some emotional issues another….but still).  I was perplexed.  I had been exercising religiously and all of a sudden it became a struggle.  I couldn’t understand it.

 

This week it clicked.  I went back to zumba on Wednesday night.  My foot did fine.  There were a few times in the choreography that my foot shot pain, but mostly it was a dull ache….so anytime those steps came up, I just marched in place.  I pushed it further and tried to run on Thursday night.  I was absolutely giddy with excitement when I was heading out.   The foot is giving me a bit of grief today and the jury is out if I’ll be able to restart running on a regular basis….but I learned a lesson about myself.  While I get bored and like variety in my crafts and hobbies……I am the same way with my exercise.  Variety is the key to my success.  I LOVE mybike.  I love the wind in my face and the sound of the wheels on the pavement (or if I’m on my trek the sound of the wheels crunching the pebbles on the canal). I enjoy it.   But doing it every day with no other variety added in doesn’t work for me.  Because you see, I love running. I love the feeling of pushing myself and the little sweat rivulets that run down my back and the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement, the slow moving scenery and the way my mind works when I run. (it does take a totally different path then when I’m biking…both are good….just different for some reason).  Zumba is immensely fun…maybe no longer as high intensity as I need, but still just fun and still a good workout.  It’s a social hour for me.  It’s a place where I can get my sweat on but also interact with people.   It is exercise, but totally different for me.   Tennis…same thing, good but different.  That is husband time….it’s still moving and active.  I still work up a sweat (I don’t enjoy that sweat as much as I really do love the running sweat) but it’s time to spend with my husband.  Walking. My walks with Sherry are Sacred.  Don’t mess with our walk!   Variety.  I would still treasure my walks with sherry, but if I only walked every day, I would quickly grow bored.  If I played tennis everyday I would quickly grow bored. One activity does not work for me.   I in fact admire people that can do the same thing day in and day out….but that’s just not something I can do….and I just realized that it is not only in crafts…but it’s in my exercise…I need variety!

 

On that same note.  I may always be a jack of all trades with some of these crafts. I’m ok with that. It’s good to dabble in and know a bit about a lot.  But I’m not going to be a jack of all trades with my exercise.  I am mastering the road bike.  My body doesn’t ache on a regular basis (for days afterward too) when I ride. Yeah, I have days where I feel a little stiffness or whatnot, but not the God awful aches that I had when I first started.   I still am not very fast and hills still are excruciating….but I’m getting better and I WILL master it!  Running.  I was running about a 11 ½ to12 minute mile when I was injured.  That was still slower than where I wanted to be but it was miles faster then where I was in January.  I will figure out this foot thing and I will get back to running and I will conquer!  

 

Hmmm…maybe I really SHOULD think more seriously about a multi-disciplinarian sport such as a…..wait for it……..a triathlon…….

 

 

So today…my heel aches a bit…I was going to leave it un-taped today (for a break) but I was walking and it was aching quite a bit so I decided to tape it to give that extra support.  It really does seem to ease it up.   Someone asked me in my messages what is this KT tape.  It is an athletic tape that is super sticky…and super stretching.  When applied correctly (different applications for different muscles and tendons) it relieves the pressure of movement and stress upon those muscles and tendons.  I usually forget it’s on my foot (unlike braces and wraps that start to annoy, itch and dig into me and cause me to feel like that part of my body is a furnace after a few hours).  It is touted to be something that stays on for a few days.  I’ve found that I have to replace it within 24 hours…..but in fairness, that could be due to the fact that it is on my foot…so it’s getting more use, friction and wear and tear versus a shoulder or a knee.  I have been able to wear the sleeping foot thing at night even with my foot taped.  It really is a cool product.  Is it the placebo affect?   Who knows….but I really do sincerely believe it helps. 

 

So I bought new running shoes and used them yesterday (they are spiffy looking too) and they rubbed a blister.  GRRRRR  Hoepfully it’s just a ‘break them in’ issue!

Love should not equal food

I show love with food.  I have found myself doing this numerous times. When we want to celebrate, we go out to eat.  When we are sad, we go out to eat.   When we are upset….tired….wired….you name it.  When I want to do something nice for my husband I make him his favorite muffins or desserts. I show and accept love and food is the most common medium.   It is a learned behavior.  I remember as a child eating an M&M as a reward when I got my practice spelling words right.  I can’t rightly say that this is something that my parents did…but I’m sure I learned the behavior somewhere.   We always soothed and celebrated with food. That’s the way we were. My grandmother always had favorite soups on the stove when we showed up for vacations. My mom always made my brothers favorite cake and bought his favorite tasty cakes when they would visit.   It’s love. Plain and simple, love.

 

So Todd and I have been in a rough patch.  We are valiantly working on things and trying to get back to a good place.  My first thought was to go back to what worked for us way back when.    What worked for us?   Our relationship was centered around food.  We ate…..a lot!  We ate well and we ate often.  Now I’m not saying that we don’t eat.  I’m not saying that we don’t eat some scrumptious food.  I’m just saying that we’ve tried to take the focus away from food.  So as I’ve tried to put us back to a better place, it’s been my first inclination to show love with food.  I have been maintaining…but it’s a struggle because I’m wanting to medicate myself with food and at the same time I’m wanting to show love and recreate our love with food.   A nightmare!

Got to stop this trend!!!

Stuck between

I am in a weird place.  I want to lose weight so badly that I can taste it.  I dream about it.  I get excited about it.  I WANT this.  UP until a month or two ago, I was working my BUTT off to reach that goal.  Then My foot started to hurt.  I eased off. (more on that later).  I was advised by the doctor that I could ride, use the elliptical and swim.  SO I started back up and was struggling to get my momentum again. Then I got sick.  Bam, the momentum got sliced in half again.  I’m well again…and I’m trying to get back into it again.  The problem…..right after I got ‘well’  I was hit with an emotional windstorm that has knocked the wind right out of my sails. 

 

This morning I was out on my bike riding.  I was crying as I rode along.  I’m sure passing motorists were wondering what in the world to do about the girl that was pedaling down the road at warp speed…well warp speed for me….with tears streaming down her cheeks. The ride cleansed that from me….or at least gave me the outlet for the emotions.  After the emotions had washed away, at least temporarily I was able to look at my weight loss efforts realistically and with an open mind.

 

So what did I discover?  When I’m losing weight my SOLE focus is on the weight loss efforts.   My focus in the last week or two has been divided.  I am overwhelmed by everything going on in my head and that is taking the focus from my weight loss.  I need to bring the focus back to where it needs to be. Easier said than done….but I’m going to try.  

 

 

The foot……well as I said in previous posts,  I saw the doctor.  I did everything he said to do. However, it’s not really getting better.  Well, let me take that back.  The bad pain has eased up, but the foot still hurts.  And hurts worse when I do something where I’m on my feet a lot.   GRRR.   I’m trying the KT tape.  I’ve heard really good things about it.  It’s a brilliant blue (that’s what the store had….I am personally a red girl….so I would have preferred red!  Maybe next time.)   It seems to be helping to ease up the ache.  We shall see. I’m about ready to pack it in and just start going to zumba (I miss my zumba peeps) and start running (I have a 5k that I’m registered for in less than three weeks!) and just ….oh well, you know what I mean!

 

 

Holding on

Took a sneak peak at the scales today and I was happy with what I saw.  I DO need to tighten up on the ice cream in the evening though.  NO MORE ICE CREAM!   Ok, maybe I should just say "cut down the portion of your ice cream"   ha ha ha. 

I've been getting out on my bike in the mornings and it's going well.  My body feels the workout but my body doesn't ache from the unfamiliarity of the road bike.  Today I did have a bit of a stiff kneck/upper back.  Who knows.  Did I mention that it's hotter than Hades outside?   Yeah, really hot.  Did I mention that I was out riding in it?   Oh yeah, I guess I did.  Like I said, I've been trying to get out early before the sun is bearing down full on my head. 

One foot in front of the other.......but I will say this.....if I can maintain my current weight through to my official weigh in on Monday morning I'll be buying a charm.   :-)

Sweaty but happy

Well, today I got back on the bike.  No excuses.  I've done light 20 minute token activity (I won't even call it exercise) the last few days but knew that it wasn't cutting it.  I needed to get back out and sweat.  I needed it for a number of reasons.   I've been shaken to my core again by some things happening and I've been trying to work through them.  I've been fighting the urge to eat food to drown my sadness.  I know that exercise clears my mind and helps me stay away from food. So it was SUPER important that I get out and REALLY exercise.  I needed it.  Plus, I'm not going to get into onederland easily if I don't exercise. (possible to do it without exercise, but it will take a super strict diet...and that's not what I'm aiming for...I"m aiming to LIVE). 

Yesterday I talked about getting the ball rolling.  I got it rolling...literally today with my bike ride.  I just went 10 miles but it felt good.  I was doing something for ME again.  I was recommitting to this process.   I'm roughly 30 pounds away from my 'high end' (doctor recommended high end) goal.  (yes, I think I'm cutting myself short by saying that I want to stop at 180 pounds...I'm 5'8"....I'm going to lose down to where I need to be.....at least see how I look when I'm in the proper weight range for my BMI....which for me is 164 or less....if I'm doing this, I"m going to do it RIGHT!)  So I exercised this morning, food is all accounted for and planned out for the day.  There is a planned walk with Todd tonight....just a mile , maybe two.  We will see how my foot handles it. Heading to the shower now.  I'm sweaty after my ride, but I'm happy with myself for doing it!

As a little post script....my weigh has held me back from so much my whole life.  I don't want that to be the case anymore....so I'm pondering doing something crazy crazy crazy for my weight loss celebration maybe my onederland...maybe my goal weight celebration.  I don't know.   Sky diving.  The thought has been floating around in my head.  Yeah, I know my mom will have a conniption. (maybe I can talk my brother into doing it with me....may as well cause her to totally lose her marbles!.....ha ha ha)   I don't' know where the sky diving thing came from .  Just the other day I said to my self "Self, wouldn't it be cool to jump from a plane?"    Not saying it's going to happen.  But I'm kinda chewing this idea around in my head.

Start the wheels turning again

Momentum.  I had momentum.  I was gung ho to get this weight off.  I had the momentum of a really good exercise routine on my side.  I had the ball rolling in the right direction and life was going great.

 

Then I hit a speed bump.   The first speed bump was the pain in my foot. I continued on for a day or two after the pain began, but eventually stopped until I found out what was happening.   My  momentum was altered.  I went to the doctor and decided that for the sake of healing that I would use the elliptical and ride my bike as my forms of exercise.  I started to rebuild my momentum.  I was rolling along (literally hahaha).   And then out of the blue I got hit with another speed bump. The second speed bump was in the form of being sick.   It knocked me out of commission and it took me a while to get back on my feet.  

 

I was well enough to ride this past weekend.  However, my momentum is gone.  I didn’t ride.  I didn’t make it to the gym to use the elliptical.  I didn’t…I didn’t….I didn’t.  BAD, I know!   I swore that I would get up and ride early this morning.  Did I?   NO.   Not good. 

 

When the ball is rolling it’s a great thing. The momentum carries you along even when you aren’t feeling it.  But when that momentum comes to a grinding halt it takes a whole bunch to get it moving again.   I’m pushing my shoulder against that big boulder right now trying to get it moving.   I NEED to get it moving for a few reasons.  Number one, exercise is healthy and will help me with my weight loss efforts.  Secondly, I need it for my emotional well being.  Exercise has been a stress reliever….it has a calming effect on my emotions.  I NEED that right now.

Sniff sniff sniff

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.   My appetite has been in the toilet ever since I got sick (ha ha ha, I guess pun intended...in the toilet...ha ha ha).  I am hungry but jut haven't been able to eat much.  Until today.   I am absolutely famished today.   I'm working to try to contain my levels of food intake, but seriously....I'm hungry! 

The scales have been kind to me.  I'm hoping that I can hold on to the weight that I've been showing for the last 4 days.  If I can, I will have recouped all my weight gain from last week and then added onto it.  That would be SPLENDID!   I've been consistently weighing at 210.   That would be better than splendid.   That would put me within spitting distance of onederland.  Holy cow!

I've been really lax about my workouts this week.  Oh wait, that's mainly because I was sick...and then up even through Friday I just felt wiped out and worn out.  Yesterday was the first day I felt remotely normal.    I got a short burst of light exercise in this morning and I've  worked around the house.  My plan is to get rolling tomorrow.  Nothings going to stop me now...I can smell the one hundreds and it smells mighty fine!

Gift horse

I was rather bummed out about the fact that over the weekend that I showed 5 pounds up.  Yeah, literally 5 pounds in two days.  I didn't eat 5 pounds worth of food.  SO I was reasonably sure that it was mostly water weight as I KNOW that I was somewhat dehydrated on Saturday and Sunday I was outside all day in some pretty extreme heat.  I was drinking diet soda all weekend (which usually drives my weight up...water weight, I guess because of the sodium).   Regardless, I was bummed.

On Monday night I got home and went right to bed.  I was up a few hours later with terrible pains in my stomach and lets just say that I dropped all of those added pounds and then some within the next few hours.  Not the way I wanted to lose weight, but I'll take it!  Seriously, I'm not going to turn any weight loss aside!  In the future though, I'd like to stick to the good old fashioned watching what I eat and exercising like a mad woman to drop pounds!!!

I hope to be back on my bike very soon.  There is no way I could have even attempted it today. (I could barely make it through washing dishes for 10 minutes).  I probably will give myself tomorrow also and see how I handle a 'normal' day.  Right now I'm projecting to be back out by Friday!   On Monday I was planning that Tuesday I was going to add miles and more hills to my ride....I may not do that on Friday but it is COMING.

The other awesome side affect of my sickness. For the last two days I've pretty much laid flat on my back.  I've not walked and this forced inactivity has given my heel issues some time to settle down.  I noticed today that my heel didn't bother me at all.  Dare I hope......

Spiraling

It caught up with me.  Ok, maybe not totally. I’m reasonably sure that some of my ‘official weigh in’ results is the fact that it was stinkin’ hot this weekend.  I spent hours outside and as such I ended up drinking a lot of drinks that are higher sodium (which I know causes my weight to spike).  But I’m not going to lie.  I have not been eating right for the last few weeks.  

 

No excuses.  I have done this to myself.  I’ve been skirting on the edge.  I’ve not been horribly bad but I’ve allowed too many carbohydrates to creep into my life and maybe even a snack or two also.   That alone would be ok.  It would be a maintain (and it is what I was doing for a week or two).  But then add in that I went a week or so without exercise while I tried to figure out what was up with the foot and you have a bad combination.   I seriously make better choices when I’m exercising regularly.  (and the exercise gives me a little leeway to not have to be so ‘perfect.) 

 

I don’t have grand plans.  I am only saying that I’m going to focus on keeping my calories (and nutrients…because just eating the proper amount of calories isn’t enough, it has to be PROPER nutrients for MY body).  I’m going to focus on getting at least an hour (or right about an hour) of exercise each day.  I’m going to recommit to this process. 

 

I rode this morning.   Had a nice ride and was happy with how I feel on my ride.  The upper body doesn’t cry out in freakish misery anymore.  I’m not going to say that my arms are not a bit achy when I ride, but it’s not an ache that lasts for the next two days.  So I KNOW I’m improving.   (I almost went down today…..the park service was putting the battlefield back into shape after the fourth of July celebration so the park maintenance guys were there and also some prison inmates were working.  I came to a stop at a major road and went to put my right foot down and found myself leaning to the left.  I jerked myself to the right and didn’t go down…thank heavens…I didn’t need to do a swan dive in front of the prison inmates.)

 

I am contemplating going to the gym tonightfor a little time on the elliptical.  We shall see. Right now I’m fighting the eyelids that are drooping with sleep.