Category: Weigh In

Weigh In / Long Run – 1/14

I promised a return this week – and I hereby keep that promise.

Weight – 273.4 lbs

Two Week Gain / (Loss) – (1.4 lbs)

Total Loss – (54 lbs)

Weekly Mileage – 27.8 miles

As reported, two weeks ago was a total bust … I don’t get sick often, but when I do, I try to do it right.  If was to have any hope of salvaging the marathon training I was going to have to make it happen this week.  Of course, this would be a week that involved traveling for work, but ultimately that’s something that I’m going to have to figure out.

From a food perspective, things went pretty well.  Two weeks ago (the sick one) I stayed within the Weight Watchers bounds, and this last week was close.  There was a Waffle House incident, but I’m not ashamed of that.

Hear that, triple order of hash browns scattered smothered and covered?  NOT ASHAMED.

Anyway.

And I felt like the running made a strong comeback.  Lately the issues have been with my mid-week runs, and that wound up being the problem this time.  Traveling just kills me, and, as I said, I’ve got to figure that out.

The long run was 16 miles this time, and a total weekly mileage of 27.8 – which are both new record.  And both of those records should be re-set next week, so lets not get too excited.  Today’s run was better than the 15-miler two weeks ago, but still didn’t feel as good as I think I’d like.  It doesn’t help that it snowed during much of the run.  Also, my nipples hurt.

I can’t help but do some math … based on this long run and extrapolating the pace out for the next 10 miles, we’re looking at just under 5 ½ hours for the marathon.  For a marathon that has a 5 ½ hour time limit.  So, yeah, I’m getting nervous about this.  8 weeks until this marathon, and two of those are going to be taper weeks … so, yeah.  Here we go.  I just have to keep trusting the training.  Trust the training.

Trust the training.

Weigh In / Long Run – January 11

Lets just get right to the answer for this week:  I took a zero mile week, and though I stayed inside my Weight Watcher’s points, I’m not doing a weigh-in this week.

I guess I was incubating a cold or something last weekend when I did my (brutal) 15-miler.  Because almost instantly I got a nasty cough and basically headed straight downhill.  I decided to rest for a couple of days and then pick it back up … and try to get my long run in … until I woke up on Thursday morning for my run.  I basically went downstairs, called in sick, came back upstairs, and passed out.  This makes me quite nervous, since the marathon is only like 9 weeks out … but this WAS a scheduled recovery week, and being able to hit the last 8 weeks healthy seems more important than these actual miles.  So I made the active decision to just rest.  Between that and the sickness, I won’t believe anything the scale tells me, so I’ll do the weigh-in next week.

I’d rather now spend my time talking about something positive.

I did feel a bit better today, though it was a nasty and rainy day outside.  My poor 2-year old, who has also been under the weather, is finally well enough to be feeling cooped up … and it is a nasty January day and he is stuck inside.

So we pitched my backpacking tent in the dining room. It was amazing.

Lunch in the tent...
Lunch in the tent…

He was running around yelling “This is fun!  This is fun!”  He put all of his books in there and we basically had to force him out for naps and baths and stuff.  

But I also began to notice something about me.  The last time I used this tent, pitching it was a real chore.  Getting in and out left me nearly out of breath.  I couldn’t get comfortable inside … though it IS a two-man tent, and I was only one (very large) man.  This time, though, it wasn’t bad.  I was able to go in and out pretty effortlessly.  And I was able to have a great day playing with a two-year old and not obsessing about my weight, or my breath, or … anything.  Just doing it – completely doing it.

It was awesome.  I can’t wait until spring when we can go use that tent for reals.  This is why I’m doing what I’m doing – THIS is why I’m putting in the work.  Not for this week’s miles, and certainly not for whatever the scale was going to say.

THIS.

Real weigh-in next week.  Promise.

Tent Day

Weigh In / Long Run – 1.5.2014

Straight to the numbers, which are … anti-climactic

Weight:  274.8

Weekly Gain / (Loss):  0 pounds

Total Gain / (Loss):  (52.6 pounds)

Weekly Mileage:  23.58

Not totally surprising.  Food was again the culprit this week, but then again food is nearly always the culprit.  Though the goal of Weight Watchers tracking daily is working out, I don’t want to get too carried away with expectations.  This week is one of the first “normal” weeks I will have had in a long time – no travel, no holidays, relatively low-key at work.  So I have high hopes for this weigh-in next week.

The story this week was the running – set another total weekly mileage record, but I’m not that impressed with that.  I’ll be setting those weekly for the next several weeks.  The story this week was the race, which went well but not great, and the long run.  The marathon is ten weeks from this past Saturday, so we’re ramping up for it in earnest – and this week was 15 miles.

Fortunately, I generally have access to some great running trails for these really long runs.  They’re relatively flat and they remove all issues with traffic.  However, last week it snowed here a rather lot, and while the roads get plowed those trails don’t.  So I had to put together a road course for these 15 miles.  And that introduces several things that I generally don’t have to deal with – quite a lot of elevation change, traffic, and, in this case, snow.

All of that added up to a brutal run.  The half marathon split would have been a PR by about 5 minutes, so there is that, but in general I was toast near the end of this one.  And I’ve been extra sore.  This is the first time through all of this that legitimate doubt has crept in – I don’t doubt I can eke out the mileage, but I’m starting to get concerned about the 5 ½ hour time limit.  The calculators say I should be fine, but after this … well, yikes.

This is not to say that I’m quitting, or am any less resolved.  Oh, no – this is going to happen. Its just that an element of doubt has now been introduced.  This next week is a recovery week in this calendar, so my long run is only 13 miles.  That should help, and I’m just going to have to trust the training schedule.  That’s all I can do.

Looking forward to a good weight-loss story next time!

Weigh In / Long Run 12-28

So, this week happened to include a major holiday.  A major holiday typically marked by things like big meals.  And candy.  So much candy.

Weight:  274.8

Weekly Gain / (Loss):  1.0 pounds

Total Gain / (Loss):  (52.6 pounds)

Weekly Mileage:  22.37

And, given the aforementioned major holiday, this was not a surprise.  Any gain is always a disappointment, but I’m not devastated here, because I somewhat expected it.  I am clearly on a plateau – I’ve been basically the same weight, plus or minus 2 or 3 pounds, since the end of July, so five months now.  That’s mostly a food phenomenon, and I know it.  BUT – we’re through the holidays now, which makes keeping the eating under control easier … and the mileage is getting ready to ramp up.  So I’m optimistic.

On a positive note, that was a new record for my weekly mileage.  I also set a record for longest ever run – 14 miles this morning.  Overall, I was very happy with the run – the half marathon split would have been a PR by nearly 15 minutes – but the last mile was a shuffle.  What that run did for me was demonstrate two things:  1.) how much stronger I am than I was, and 2.) how far I have to go.  After mile 14, the thought of going another 12 (point 2) seems … out of reach.  Gotta keep working.

The mileage officially starts ramping up now – barring injury or something crazy, I’ll be doing 30 mile weeks within a month.  Coupled with a re-doubled focus on food intake, and I’m thinking that I can get some momentum going on the weight loss – which will make those miles seem easier.

Incidentally – I’m not a New Year’s resolution kind of guy – but look for a goals-type post coming up.  A preview – regular blogging is a goal.

Onward!

Weigh In / Long Run 12-21

I’m not going to call this week good, but it also wasn’t bad.  Let’s just go with “not bad”.

Weight:  273.8

Weekly Gain / (Loss):  (0.4 pounds)

Total Gain / (Loss):  (53.6 pounds)

Weekly Mileage:  20.3

I’m going to start posting mileage now, too.  Part of the point of all of this is to generate a touch of accountability to the 5 of you that are regularly seeing this (also – hi!), and that should extend to the mileage as well.

This week involved work travel for me, which is always a very dangerous thing.  For whatever reason, leaving for a trip has always felt like “no rules” time for me, and I struggle to turn that off even for very short business trips.  Also, on these trips I’m not always in control of food selection, so that hurts, too.

And this week was Cincinnati, so … Skyline Chili, yes.  Montgomery Inn, yes.  (Pro-tip – when they come around and offer to put the bib on you, let them.)  Unobstructed access to chocolate in the meeting room, yes.  BUT – salad in the airport coming back, also yes.  Running my miles (even though I had to use a treadmill), yes.  And generally not screwing up too badly – yes.

So I lost a touch of weight this week, which was good.  This upcoming week, which of course includes Christmas, will also be challenging, but I’m not going to be too hard on myself.  One of the reasons that we do all of this is so that we can enjoy ourselves on Christmas.  And I intend to enjoy myself, and re-double efforts with food after the holiday.

12-mile run for the long run, and overall it felt very good.  I was in a good mental place for the distance, which helps – because after awhile that just becomes a mental exercise.   If you’ve done a swift burst of math, you’ll notice that this week I only ran 8 miles outside of my long run – and those would have been the treadmill sessions.  Thursday and Friday, when I was scheduled to do another 3 or 4 miles, just didn’t happen.  I’ve got to stop letting those fall through the cracks.

Mileage is ramping now – 14 miles scheduled for next weekend, 15 the weekend after that.  So it begins.

Weigh In / Long Run 12-14

Another good week.  Numbers:

Weight:  274.2

One Week Gain / (Loss):  (2.4 pounds)

Total Gain / (Loss):  (53.2  pounds)

It is amazing how getting back at it makes a huge and immediate difference.  In the last two weeks I’ve gotten back almost everything I had lost … and if this upcoming week is simply the exact same as this one then I’ll be at my low weight again and right back on track.

So … this is going to be another good week.  Traveling for work this week, which is typically difficult for me to manage, particularly with food.  But there is no time like now to figure it out, is there?

Long run this week was a race, the Ted Corbitt Classic 15K in Central Park.  The short version is that it was a snowy race and the park was beautiful.  I’ll post a race report at some point this week.

Onward!

Weigh In / Long Run 12.7.13

I knew I was having a good week, but this is ridiculous – and teaches me a lesson.  First, as always, the numbers:

Weight:  276.6

One Week Gain / (Loss):  (6.4 pounds)

Total Gain / (Loss):  (50.8  pounds)

Holy crap.

As I wrote in last week’s weigh-in, I rededicated myself to tracking my Weight Watcher’s points this week – and I was able to do that.  Didn’t even use my “bonus” 49 weekly points.  But then I also hit the streets hard running again this week, too.  I did miss one little 2 mile run, on the cold and rainy Friday morning, but I’m not going to beat myself up about that.

This morning I officially got right back on the marathon training schedule and did my scheduled 10-miler.  This was only the third time I’ve gone at least this far – and the other two were the half-marathon and the long run in preparation for the half-marathon.  My run overall was strong-ish, especially considering that I’ve basically taken a month off.  There is no way I can expect to come back and run these miles fast – I just have to be prepared to ease into them.  And that, in general happened today.  I did not negative split this one like I have some of my long runs in the past, but my two strongest miles based on time (as well as perception as I was running) were mile 4 and mile 8.  So … I’ll absolutely take it.

So here’s what I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks:  be skeptical about the scale.  I just don’t think I lost over 6 legitimate pounds of fat this week.  This was about water retention primarily, with some timing thrown in.  Not that I hadn’t gained weight, just that if I can knock 6 pounds off all at once then it wasn’t exactly hard-to-reach fat, was it?

That also means that I really hadn’t gained 10 pounds over the last 4 weeks, either.  Yes, if I hadn’t taken the right steps, then that would have become permanent.  But if I just went by the scale, I’d have thought I was failing miserably and been tempted to give it up … at least until after the holidays.  Instead, I put my head back down and had an amazing week.  There is a lesson in that.  If only I could articulate it.

Next weekend is the 15K in Central Park, which I’m now much more optimistic about.  In the meantime – 6 pounds!  Yay!

Weigh In / Long Run 11.30.13

Though I hoped otherwise, I knew this was coming.  I didn’t dread it as much as I did last time, though, because I know what is about to happen.  The numbers:

Weight:  283.0

Two Week Gain / (Loss):  5 pounds

Total Gain / (Loss):  (44.4 pounds)

No way around this except to say that I’ve had a very rough month.  What I am convinced happened is that a series of bad choices around food finally caught up with me when my body forced a rest period from running.

So I’ve lost all of this weight with Weight Watchers.  There are good and bad things about any diet or system that you use, and overall I’m a fan of how WW handles this – eat what you want, but we’re going to teach you how much of what is appropriate, and if you can’t handle that, you’ll be hungry.  It’s helped me an awful lot.

Back in late summer, heading into (or maybe just coming out of) the last of the half marathon training, I decided that I was going to see if I could make it without tracking points.  The goal is to be able to eventually not need a system that I pay for – to be able to handle myself with food and exercise in such a way that I can maintain my weight.  And I think when I’m in maintenance mode, that’s probably going to be doable.  In weight loss mode, however, I find I struggle.

I’ve been eating badly now for weeks.  Pretty much whatever I wanted.  But since my mileage has been consistently high, I’ve been able to maintain my weight.  I’ve been frustrated with a several week plateau, but I haven’t been gaining weight.

And then a whole bunch of stuff happened all at once that has dramatically dropped my mileage for the last 3 – 4 weeks.  I’ve been traveling, for both work and personal trips, which shouldn’t matter but does.  I got a nasty cold that required me to back way off.  And then I did one of my boneheaded things and injured my toe.  So I’m way behind where I need to be in my mileage.

And this graph demonstrates clearly how out-of-whack I let it get.  Of course, Thanksgiving was in there, but that’s just an excuse.  This should not be happening.

Here and now, though, it stops.  I did a 6 mile run this afternoon (instead of my scheduled 9, but I went), and I’ve tracked my WW points for the day.  WW tracking is back on – no bite passes my lips until it has been logged.  And the mileage starts back up … now.

There was a time that this kind of blip would cause me to throw up my hands and quit.  This was a clear demonstration that I couldn’t do this and might as well quit now.  And go eat a bag of Oreos or something.  But not this time.

Not this time.

Weigh In / Long Run – 11/18/13

This is not a post I’ve looked forward to making.  I put it off until Monday evening, but I can put it off no longer.

The numbers:

Weight:  278.0

Two Week Gain / (Loss):  4.6 pounds

Total Gain / (Loss):  (49.4 pounds)

I’m in a funk.  A funk like I haven’t felt around this part of my life in a long time.  Ever since roughly the half marathon my primary struggle has been food.  Eating well is not something I’m good at, and achieving goals relieves some pressure.  So I’ve struggled both with the content of my food – I’ve been eating a lot of crap again lately – AND the quantity.

Twice in the last few weeks I’ve purchased a bag of cookies at work and eaten the whole bag.

The whole damn bag.

That used to happen regularly.  Of course, I also used to weigh nearly 330 pounds.  Though I had never cut cookies out completely, I’ve been able to keep a lid on the binges like that.  And lately I’ve really struggled.  This, I’m convinced, is the root of my recent several-week plateau.

I didn’t gain weight, though, because I was still running.  In preparation for the Ragnar I kept at it, and kept the mileage at a respectable level.  But lately that has gotten funky, too.  I’m not hurting, not injured.  I just don’t feel like it.  My legs feel dead earlier in runs than they did.  And getting up in the morning (or, as important, going to bed in the evening) has become a real chore.

And then this week I got sick.  Head cold – it was awful.  I walked half of Thursday’s run, and I haven’t run since.

I’m reading Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, and he calls this feeling the running blues.  Apparently this is common, and happens after big races and big goals (hello, Ragnar?).  And that makes me feel immensely better.

Because this feeling isn’t OK.  I think my body was telling me to rest, and for the last several days I have rested.  And for the next couple of weeks … I will do my mileage, but I’m not going to push too hard.  I’m going to ease back into this … but I AM going to get back into this.  My official marathon training schedule actually started last week – so I’m back.

Time to get to 50 pounds down again.  And start pushing for that next 50.