No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service. Nobody Said I Needed Pants.

Week 17 Complete!!  Whoo-hoo!!

And there's even more bling.  Check it: 

After a disappointing week last week, this week has been full of surprises of the best kind.  Down 6.6 this week for a total of 50.4.  I knew this week had been a better week, but this was not at all what I expected.  Personal goal, achieved!  1/4 of the way there and still going strong!  Apparently 50 pounds does not get you an allan wrench after all, it gets you a slightly thicker washer-looking thingy.  The second charm is the "stay and succeed" clapping hands charm, which you get after completing 16 weeks on the plan.  A few weeks ago the theme of our WW meeting was finding an anchor, or a physical item that reminds you of a time you had a feeling of success.  The thought is that looking at this object will reconnect you to that feeling and help keep you on track.  I will refer you to Dominique's excellent post for a much clearer explanation of the concept.  I decided to use my keychain because earning it gave me the feeling that I was out there kicking ass and taking names.  Jean-Claude Van Damme had nothing on me that day.  The last time I had that feeling was the day I got into medical school, because I saw all my hard work pay off and realized my dreams were within reach even though I still had a lot of work left to do.  Carrying my degree around in my pocket strikes me as somewhat impractical (especially in the ornate frame Mom insisted on buying for it) so keychain it is!  I'm a hugely goal-oriented person, and I love the idea of continuing to add charms until I get to 200 pounds.  My original plan had been to buy charms that were meaningful to me when I hit my goals but so far WW has been supplying them for me.  My next goal is 56 pounds lost for my next Pi Hard check in.  My next WW goal is 75 pounds, or 20% of my starting weight.  

The bling was awesome, but believe it or not it wasn't the best thing that happened to me this week.  The best thing that happened to me this week was definitely forgetting my pants.  Not usually something one celebrates, I realize.  Let me explain.  One night (for work-related reasons) I found myself spending the night away from home.  I had a presentation to give the next day and thus I packed a bag containing some nice khaki pants to wear, or at least I thought I did.  Lo and behold the next morning I had a shirt and shoes but no khaki pants.  Four months ago this would have been a real problem.  I live about an hour away from where I work, so running home for pants would not have been an option.  Faced with the option of either wearing jeans or going pantsless, I suddenly thought maybe it's time to take that 50 pounds out for a spin.  To put this in perspective, the last time I was able to buy pants in a store was a year and a half ago, and even at my lightest weight some of the 28s were too tight.  So, off to Lane Bryant I went, with no small amount of trepidation.  I think I'd been subconsciously avoiding this moment because I was afraid nothing would zip and then my good feeling bubble would burst.  I've been window shopping, but at no point since January have I actually tried anything on.  Here I am in the dressing room, wearing the pants I bought!

I also forgot to pack hairspray, hence my hair here.

Now for the best part.  Here's the size label in those pants:

Full disclosure:  those were the only size 26 pants that fit.  The rest buttoned but were still too tight in the waist.  Every single size 28 fit though!  I bought these because they were the ones I liked the best   they were the least wrinkled and I could wear them from the store to work they were a size 26!  I explained my situation to the clerk who very kindly let me change in the dressing room after I paid for the pants, made it on time for my presentation and all was well.  All in all, $29 well spent.  Things are definitely looking up for the next time I try on my goal capris!  I'll wear them yet!  And rest assured, 26 is merely a short stop on my road to The Gap!  

(Side note to thin people: does The Gap sell clothes that would be appropriate for a 33 year old?  I'm so out of touch with non-plus sized shopping I don't even know anymore.)

No new running records to report this week.  I've been having trouble with muscle cramps in my side when I try to go any faster.  I've increased my speed significantly since January from an average pace of 16-18 minutes per mile to my current pace of 13-15 minutes per mile and I think this is just my body letting me know it's not ready to go any faster.  The cramps make it difficult to catch my breath and I usually have to walk for a minute or so to alleviate them.  Question for the runners out there reading this, do any of you have any suggestions that will prevent this from happening?  Any help would be much appreciated.  I continue to hate the Fartlek with the burning fire of a thousand suns but Sophia reminds me that as torturous running exercises go it's a million times better than the Jonesy.  I couldn't find anything online about the origins of that particular exercise, but I did find out it's better known by the racist term "Indian Run".  Nobody seems to be sure why.  Let's stick with calling it a Jonesy, mm-kay?  A Jonesy is a team exercise Sophia and I had to do at soccer practice wherein everyone jogs in a single file line.  The person who is unlucky enough to find themselves at the end of the line must sprint to the head of the line, lather, rinse, repeat.  Simple enough in theory, oh my God my lungs are going to fall out if I have to do that again in actual practice, especially if you are the slowest runner on the team.  (I'm pretty sure Sophia and I probably tied for that honor.  We were really good at making sure the bench didn't float away though.)  Suffice it to say, when your sprint is approximately the same speed as the average person's jog it feels like it takes forever to get to the head of the line.  Thank God that a) I am a solo runner and you need a team for that and b) I am now a voting adult with enough intelligence to tell anyone who might ask me to do that again to go jump in a lake.  Age has to count for something, right?

Best Non-Running Related Discovery This Week:  Fitch, please.  Ellen's response to the Abercrombie and Fitch debacle.  Key quote: "What you look like on the outside is not what makes you cool, at all.  I mean, I had a mullet and I wore parachute pants for a long, long time, and I'm doing OK.  What is important is that you're healthy, that is the most important thing, as long as you're healthy and you're happy that's the most important thing."  Sing it, sister.

What's On Tap For This Week:

Sunday: 30 minute walk

Monday:  off

Tuesday:  3 mile run

Wednesday: cross train, 30 minutes.  This is supposed to be aerobic activity other than running.  

Thursday:  3 mile run

Friday:  off

Saturday: 5 mile run (eek!)

Wish me luck, and if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!

The Gain In Losing

Week 16 Complete!! Whoo-hoo!! 

Up 0.8 pounds this week. I can't lie, this had me really bummed out. This is my second small gain since I started doing this in January and it was hard to step on the scale and not get that good feeling that comes with a loss.  I realize that this is going to be a long process and I also realize that it would be almost impossible to lose 200 pounds and never have a bad week.  That being said it was surprisingly easy to let that 0.8 pounds degenerate into self-recrimination and navel gazing.

(Side note: I accidentally mistyped that as "naval gazing".  Seems to me that would be more fun, no?)

Anyway, by "navel gazing" I mean "actually looking at my own navel", which I quickly realized is hidden in a skin fold.  It may sound funny to say but even at 375.6 pounds I was never negative about myself when looking in the mirror.  Sure, I had my moments of wishing I could look like Angelina Jolie but still eat as much pizza as I wanted (who doesn't?) but I was never one of those women who maintained an exhaustive list of real or imagined physical flaws.  Generally, my attitude is that anybody who would judge me by my weight or appearance isn't worth getting to know in the first place.  If people don't like me that's their loss, I like myself just fine.  Shopping for clothes is sometimes frustrating, but I always find things that make me feel pretty.  At the end of this week, I found myself staring at individual parts of my body in the mirror and thinking "oh, how ugly", which is honestly not a thought I've ever had before.  Having committed to a healthier lifestyle, I wanted the evidence of the unhealthy lifestyle gone, and I wanted it gone pronto.  This is not a healthy attitude.  Fortunately for me, it didn't last very long.  My friends were, as always, incredibly supportive.  One person told me "today was a reminder that you are human" which a) reminded my of my super hero alter ego Super Obese and made me laugh and b) reminded me not to lose sight of everything I've gained in finally committing to weight loss.  I also found this post by a woman who lost 170 pounds over 3 years, which made me realize that if she can do it, I can do it too.  So without further ado, here is my list of 

Ten Things I've Gained By Losing Weight

1)  The skills and confidence to weather a bad week and keep coming back.  In the past I was the person who made excuses like "well, I've already screwed up for today, I might as well eat that donut". Now I can look back, realize where I went wrong, and figure out how to fix it.  For the record, last week where I went wrong was not grocery shopping. I was eating away from home for a variety of reasons for a lot of the week and I let my refrigerator stay empty on the in between days.  Not having readily available fruits and veggies made it easy for me to slip back into my old habits of buying food at the cafeteria and picking something up on my way home.  I tried to make good choices but not weighing and measuring makes it much harder to account for everything.  So this week will find me hair band grocery shopping again and filling my refrigerator with all sorts of lovely fresh things to eat!  

2)  Four new holes on my belt.  My pants are starting to get too big, so two weeks ago I dug a belt out from the back of my closet and found that I needed to cinch it in four holes farther than in January!  Whoo-hoo!

3)  The ability to run long distances again.  This weekend I ran four miles for the first time since September.  I'd be lying if I said the actual running felt great, but it sure did feel good when I was done!

4)  The ability to run faster than ever.  This week I broke two of my own records.  I ran a mile in 12:41 and a 5K in 42:58.  For the first time I have times that approach real running times.  If you believe this website, "most runners training for the marathon are averaging anywhere from 9 minutes to 12 minutes per mile on their long runs (3:45 to 5 hour finishing time)."  That's right, I'm only :41 per mile from achieving an actual marathon pace!  Soon, even Weight Watchers will have to call me a runner.  Boo-yah!!

5)  The ability to shop in stores again.  In December, I bought a pair of pants that were a size 34.  I had to accept that I'd sized out of even the plus sized stores.  For the non-fat among you, most plus sized stores go up to a 24, a few like Lane Bryant or The Avenue will carry certain styles up to a 28 or a 30.  Department stores never go above a size 24.  Now the size 28's in the back of my closet are fitting again.  First stop Lane Bryant, next stop Macy's and then on to The Gap!  But never Abercrombie.  Those people are assholes.  

(side note:  this discovery was slightly less exciting when I wandered into Lane Bryant and saw this and this and this and Stop! Hammertime!  Seriously, fashion powers that be, for years I've had to deal with jeggings and tops with oddly placed hip elastics and skinny jeans and now you're going all loose and flow-y on me?  Also, paisley skirts?  Is it 1993?  Le sigh.)

6)  The ability to laugh at Mom when she doesn't understand my clothes.  I was wearing my Hokey-Pokey Anonymous T-shirt (it fits again!!) and she looked at me very seriously and said "is that a real place?"  Yes, Mom.  At first it was just putting my left foot in.  Then I was taking my left foot out, and I thought I could still handle it.  Suddenly I was shaking it all about and I just couldn't stop.  (This may have violated the "don't post anything embarrassing" rule, but it was just too funny not to share.  Sorry, Mom.)

7)  The ability to sit in a standard restaurant booth.  Still a bit of a squeeze sometimes, but not impossible.  I look forward to not having to think about this ever again soon!  (see also: airplane seatbelt extenders and airline "customer of size" policies, necklace and watch extenders)  I expect to be crossing these things off my list of things to worry about one by one!

8)  The ability to move on with my life after exercising.  In January I would run and it would take me an hour to recover my energy.  Now a two minute cool down walk is all it takes (all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding) and I'm raring to go again.  OK that's a lie.  I am never raring to run again, preferring instead to fall to my knees thanking God that I don't have to do that again until tomorrow.  But I am raring to do other things with my life instead of going home and watching TV.  

9)  The ability to run up five flights of stairs.  I had to do this recently, and I was still alive when I got  to the top!

10)  The ability to wear my favorite sweater again.  And it looks good, too.

 Best Non-Running Related Discovery This Week:  This video.  Lord knows I love to see someone getting their Bon Jovi on. 

What's On Tap For This Week:
Sunday: off
Monday: 3 mile run
Tuesday: Fartlek 20 minutes (damn you, Gosta Holmer!)
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 3 mile run
Friday: 30 minute walk
Saturday: 4 mile run

Wish me luck, and if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!

Damn Gosta Holmer! Damn Everyone Who Won't Damn Gosta Holmer!

Week 15 Complete!! Whoo-hoo!

My apologies to John Jay for this week's title.  The third line "Damn everyone who won't put lights in his windows and sit up all night damning Gosta Holmer!" wouldn't quite fit :)

Down 5.8 this week for a total of 44.6 since the beginning of January.  That's 11.2 pounds per month and 2.9 pounds per week.  In the records department, this is my largest single weight loss in one week AND I cut my record one mile time down to 13:19!  All in all, a pretty good week.  

This week and last week, I added a new old friend (read: nemesis) to my running routine.  That's right, I'm back to doing the Fartlek.  I've actually been running Fartleks going all the way back to high school, at the time I thought they were dreamed up by my soccer coach for the express purpose of torturing me.  I've since learned that they were created by a Swedish running coach named Gosta Holmer for the express purpose of torturing me.  I have no way of knowing exactly how he predicted my running activities back in 1937, but I'm sure images of my red, sweaty face crossed his mind as he cackled gleefully and hatched his dastardly training plan.  The word "fartlek" translates to "speed play" in English which convinces me that the Swedes have a different definition of "playing" than I do.  The routine consists of interval training, which for me is running at a 7/10 intensity for 4 minutes, followed by a 1 minute slow jog.  I do this for a total of four cycles, or 20 minutes.  Common sense would tell you this should appeal to me, as it's less than half the average 45 minutes it takes me to run three miles, but common sense does not take into account the lack of walking breaks.  I cherish my walking breaks. It's the only window of sanity I get amidst the madness.  Now that I know his name, I curse Gosta Holmer for taking them away from me!  I assure you, at no time do I consider my sweaty face, wheezing lungs, and burning leg muscles and think "what a fun game to play!".  The term "speed play" should be reserved for cards and/or the final round of various game shows.  Under certain circumstances, it may also apply to movies starring Keanu Reeves (for the record, those circumstances are sleepover parties I may or may not have had in the mid 90's during which the quoting of lines from that movie may or may not have featured prominently.  In other words, it's not my fault that every time I fly somewhere I end up saying "We're at the airport.  I already seen the airport.")

Speaking of Keanu Reeves, hands down the best part of spring (besides, you know, sunshine and flowers and stuff) is the start of summer movie season.  Summer movies will not provide you with a moving dramatic experience (let's face it, Keanu Reeves is to acting as a goldfish is to a dog park.  When he shows up in something serious you think "hmm, what is that doing here?").  Summer movies will provide you with two things: 1) action sequences/explosions and 2) eye candy.  They are campy and fun and sometimes you get to see Hugh Jackman without a shirt on (or Gwyneth Paltrow without a shirt on, if that's your thing.  Summer movies are equal opportunity in the eye candy department.)  This summer's offerings promise to be entertaining.  Let's take a look, shall we?

1)  Iron Man 3 - Saw it this weekend.  Definitely better than Iron Man 2, and once again Disney has proven their remarkable ability not completely screw things up by buying the rights to Marvel superheroes.  Let's hope the same can be said for Star Wars.  Some things just don't need more than three movies.  (note to George Lucas: I did not say "more than six movies".  See below re: messing with a good thing.  Jar-Jar Binks was "the best damn character in any of the six movies", my ass.)  This movie also does 3D/IMAX right, it uses the technology to make the action scenes more exciting and palpable to the audience instead of just shooting scenes all "hey look!  3D!" the way so many movies do.  Robert Downey, Jr is not too shabby, either.

2)  The Great Gatsby - really looking forward to this one.  Loved the book, and generally I love Baz Luhrmann too.  I even loved his version of my least favorite play enough to keep my displeasure at Juliet's stupidity mostly to myself when I watched it.  Not much of a Leo DiCaprio fan in terms of eye candy but he is a very talented actor and well cast in this role.  

3)  Attack on Wall Street - Meh.  It may have #1 but is seriously lacking in #2.  

4)  Star Trek Into Darkness - normally I can't forgive movie makers for messing with a good thing.  Good or bad, I believe what has already been written in a series becomes canon and you shouldn't be able to change the past.  You can tell a story that hasn't already been told but you can't change the fact that James Bond likes his martinis shaken, not stirred or that Luke kissed Leia before he knew she was his sister.  I gave J. J. Abrams a pass because of the clever way he created an alternate universe while still linking it to the original series.  The character development was superb too, listening to Karl Urban speak I could hear echoes of DeForest Kelley saying "dammit Jim!  I'm a doctor, not a coal miner!"  Let's hope they can keep it up in the second installment (but really, what could compete with this?)  Also, yum.

5)  Fast and Furious 6 - wait, there are 6 of those?  Not even Vin Diesel can make up for that travesty.  Yeesh.  

6)  The Hangover 3 - loved the first one, but do we really need the same story a third time?  On the plus side - yum.  For the record, the only thing that made The A-Team a watchable movie. 

7)  After Earth - Why is Will Smith doing such a weird accent?  This is an M. Night Shyamalan movie so it goes without saying there will be a surprise twist ending (note to Mr. Shyamalan - becoming famous for doing this in every single movie ruins the point.  Loved it in The Sixth Sense, got kinda tired of it by The Village.)  I am an inveterate Will Smith fan (it's true, Parents Just Don't Understand) so it might be worth seeing.  I'll say the jury is still out.  

8)  Man of Steel - oh, my God, I am a total sucker for all things Superman.  Loved the original movies, loved Lois and Clark (admittedly mostly because of Dean Cain), loved Smallville (partly because of Tom Welling, but mostly because it was just a great TV show.  I missed Michael Rosenbaum when he left though.  Superman isn't the same without Lex Luthor.)   Smallville was great because the whole series was an origins story.  The creators set out to tell the story of Clark Kent, not the story of Superman, thus there were famously no tights and no flights throughout the series.  (Also, Green Arrow?  Yum.  But I digress.)  Here's hoping the movies can do as good a job as TV did.  

9)  Pacific Rim - giant sea aliens vs giant human piloted robots?  What's not to love?

10)  The Wolverine - well, we've already talked about Hugh Jackman.  I'm not sure there's too much more of Wolverine's story left to be told, but I'll be honest and admit it's not going to stop me from plunking my butt down in a movie theater seat to find out.  

11)  300: Rise of An Empire - you can't improve on Gerard Butler's abs.  'Nuff said.  

Now you all know what I'll be doing in between runs this summer.  Anyone who wants to join me in staring at Hugh Jackman wait, no, watching things blow up  wait, no, getting a quality entertainment experience is welcome!  Now, here's

What's On Track For This Week:
Sunday: 30 minute walk (done!)
Monday: 3 mile run
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: Fartlek 20 mins (damn you, Gosta Holmer!)
Thursday: off
Friday: 3 mile run
Saturday: 4 mile run

Wish me luck, and as always, if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!

Records and Milestones and Haters, Oh My!

Week 14 Complete!!  Whoo-hoo!!

And I have more bling!  Check it:

That, my friends, is the Weight Watchers 10% keychain.  That's right, the thing that looks like a washer has found its forever home.  I'm down 4.8 pounds this week for a total of 38.8!  Very gratifying after a somewhat disappointing week last week.  Yodel-ay-hee-hoo!  I couldn't make my meeting this week and ran in Friday evening just as the lady working behind the counter was closing the door.  She let me come in to weigh in and then was so happy to give me this.  She shook my hand and then told me she was glad she let me in because I made her happy before she left for the weekend.  It was so cute, I think she was happier than I was!  (OK, not really, but it was a close second.)  I couldn't be happier if I'd won an Oscar.  

(Side note - Wouldn't it be fun if there were weight loss Oscars?  I'm imagining the acceptance speech:  "I'd like to thank my leader B, my fellow weight watchers, my earbud personal trainer Jillian, my blog readers, my parents, my sister, the people who make Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, the people at my local farmer's market for the fresh fruits and vegetables..." and at this point the song Onward, Fat Girl would start playing me off.  But I digress.)

This is a landmark moment people!  I wasn't posting my weight when I first started this, but the lowest weight I've achieved thus far was 337 pounds.  I am now 336.8, and still yodeling my way down!  Astute readers will note this was also my next personal goal, and that losing 36 pounds was my goal for my next Pi Hard check in.  To refresh your memory, the shirt is a size 2x and the pants are a size 26.  Check it out:

As you can see, my mad selfie skillz have not improved over the last 20 pounds.  But the fit of the clothes has!  I can zip the pants now, and the top of the T-shirt fits in the arm and boob area, which was not the case before.  Progress!  We'll check back in with this outfit in another 20 pounds (astute readers will note that will take me up to 58 pounds lost!)  I'll wear it yet!  Next WW goal: 20% of my starting body weight or 75 pounds.  Next personal goal: 50 pounds (1/4 of the way there!).  I'm running there as fast as I can!

In other landmark moments, I'm continuing to run faster than ever before!  In the life of this blog, my record time for a one-mile run has been 14 minutes and 20 seconds.  (I say "the life of this blog" because as a teenager I did once run a 7 minute mile.  But that was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.)  This week, I broke my own record twice, first at 14:18 and then again the very next run at 14:04!  Now the grannies outpacing me on the track just have canes instead of walkers, and only the very fastest and most well-conditioned snails are capable of lapping me.  My friend B tells me the next step is to outdistance the racing snails.  I wonder if the shrieking eels are next?  But really that seems like it would be more of a swimming challenge.  

In yet another landmark moment, this week I can say I've truly made it as a blogger.  That's right, the haters have found me!  Truly a big day for anyone who maintains a public internet presence.  In other words, I've arrived!  Music has always been a positive motivating force in my life, so I will only respond to those who would put me down musically.  Without further ado or attention here is one of my favorite songs about the importance of enjoying life's simple pleasures.  Feel free to skip ahead to the 

Best Non-Running Related Discovery This Week:  Candy Crush.  I'm hopelessly addicted.  To the point that I seriously considered breaking my lifelong rule against spending real money on virtual items and purchasing extra lives for $0.99 when I got stuck on level 29.  Fortunately, reality intruded and I didn't, but I can't lie, it was a close thing for a minute there.  

What's On Tap For This Week:

Sunday:  45 minute walk (joined by my sister and her dog Parker!)

Monday: off

Tuesday:  3 mile run

Wednesday: 2 mile run

Thursday: Farltek 20 minutes

Friday: off

Saturday: 3 mile run

Wish me luck, and as always, if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!

It's a Sloth! It's a Vespa! It's Kim Running!

Week 13 Complete!! Whoo-hoo!!

Before I get to this week's update, in the wake of last week's bombing many people have found themselves moved to do something to help.  (My favorite story is this one, where people are sending money to buy David Henneberry a new boat "without any terrorist blood in it".)  I am always overwhelmed by people's willingness to help whenever tragedy strikes in this country or abroad.  One person raising their voice for good will always be louder than a million people shouting in anger and hate.  If you are looking for a way to be heard, please consider supporting ConnTrek!  We are raising money for the On-Site Academy which provides mental health services to first responders struggling with critical incident stress.  You can also like us on Facebook.  Please post a message on our wall in support of the hikers!  It's a great way to help the helpers in this country as well as to help ensure our children's voices are being heard.  Follow along with us as we hike 100 miles!

And now back to your regularly scheduled blather...

Down another 0.8 pounds this week!  There is at least a little bit less of me!  This week was not as successful as I've been in previous weeks, most likely because I missed two runs this week.  I also ate out twice but even with that still remained within my points goal.  Just goes to show how all-important keeping up with the exercise is!  I'm choosing to focus on the positive, namely that even though it's not as big a loss, there is still less of me!  As far as I'm concerned I get to chalk it up as a "W".  It's unrealistic to expect that I'll always be able to exercise for an hour each day.  Some weeks life just gets in the way.  The important thing is not to use a bad week as an excuse to get lazy.

I'm strapping on my running shoes again this week with a vengeance!  I've officially reached my goal of being able to run three miles again (faster than ever before!  But still not that fast.  I will never be confused with a bird or a plane.  Possibly a three toed sloth or maybe a slow-moving Vespa, but definitely not a bird or a plane.  But I digress.) so as of this week I am officially back in marathon training.  Hartford, here I come!  I found out this week that the average marathon time is four hours and 32 minutes.  Based on this, my 5K time of 45 minutes and the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow I have done some extremely complicated mathematical forecasting and have determined that if I start running on Saturday October 12, I should finish sometime around Thanksgiving.  Maybe you can bring me some turkey and stuffing as I cross the finish line!  I'm not sure yet whether I'll be targeting the full or the half marathon.  I figure if I can make it through walking 100 miles and I'm still alive at the end of the week maybe I really can go running for 26.2!

Interestingly I've had several people ask me in the last few weeks if I counted points on Easter.  In truth, I did, but only because Easter was my holiday to work this year.  The real question is "do you count points on holidays?" and my answer is a resounding HELL NO!  I refuse to become someone whose entire life revolves around my food choices.  Undeniably, it would be a tragedy if I died young because of my weight.  It would be an even bigger tragedy if I never ate my aunt's eggplant parmesan again.  Not so much because of the eggplant itself (although it may in fact be the best thing I've ever eaten) but because it would be truly sad to deny myself the pleasure associated with eating it occasionally.  I might live longer but I can't say it would be a happy life.  When I eat eggplant it's at a family party with my aunts and uncles and cousins and somebody's new boyfriend and somebody else's college roommate and assorted pets.  Everybody is talking at once, everybody is in each other's business, we're cracking up at the existence of the Merry Christmas from Heaven photo ornament or possibly threatening to build our own Home for the Aged to put all my aunts in.  There are kids running around everywhere and usually I'm taking a good natured ribbing regarding the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of my car.  Everybody is eating eggplant or lasagna or ham pie or turkey with stuffing or pasta or lemon chicken or stuffed mushrooms or broccoli with cheese or whatever.  Somebody is doing a 5K for charity, somebody else is selling candles and a third person is selling church raffle tickets.  Don't forget everybody owes $20 for that fruit basket we sent Mary Sue when she had surgery.  Checkbooks and wallets come out and financial negotiations that rival balancing the national budget ensue.  Somebody mentions the governor and sets my mother off on a tirade (suffice it to say, she is not a fan.)  One of the kids is rounding up people to play Uno.  Right around when it's time to do the dishes a cadre of people lead by my other aunt leave to take a walk.  It's loud and chaotic.  This party and others just like it were among the formative experiences of my childhood.  Why would I want to miss any of it by stopping to figure out how many points are in the eggplant?

The same holds true for birthdays, vacations, and dinners with friends.  They are the experiences that make like interesting and if you're wasting time thinking about Weight Watchers then you're missing the point (pun most definitely intended).  Denying yourself everything pleasurable is the surest way to fail.  No man can go a lifetime without birthday cake (Sophia will point out here that she has, but she is one of those weird people who doesn't like cake.  Ask her to go without ice cream, that would be a different story altogether.)  If the price I pay for spending time catching up with old friends is a little bump in the scale that week, I consider the experience to be well worth it.  Over the past four months I've been successful at making changes in my everyday life and I plan to continue reaping the benefits.  I joyfully eat the occasional eggplant with a clear conscience and return the next day to my grilled chicken and fruit with a lighter heart.  In other words, no, I don't count points on Easter :)

Best Running-Related Discovery This Week:  This account, written by Peter Sagal (if you've never listened to Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! then you should.  Right now.  Go ahead, I'll wait.) about his experience as a sighted guide to a visually impaired runner in the Boston Marathon.  They had an amazingly close call, crossing the finish line literally minutes before the explosions.  I'm also mega-impressed by the fact that there are blind people running marathons.  Incredible.  People's resiliency and adaptability astounds me.  New goal: if running marathons becomes something I'm good at, I will pay it forward and become a sighted guide for someone else.

Best Non-Running Related Discovery This Week:  The Lifetime Movie Call Me Crazy.  Usually I watch Lifetime movies because they are so hilariously bad, but this one was actually a very fair and balanced look at living with mental illness.  Check it out if you can.

What's On Tap For This Week:
Sunday:  30 minute walk
Monday:  3 mile run
Tuesday:  off
Wednesday:  Farltek 20 minutes
Thursday:  2 mile run
Friday:  off
Saturday: 3 mile run

Wish me luck, and as always, if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!

Misunderstandings

Week 12 Complete!!  Whoo-Hoo!!!


First and foremost, I'd like to extend my thoughts and prayers to all the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing today. I'm so happy that everyone I knew who was running appears to be safe and I offer my sincere condolences to those who weren't as lucky. Mom and Dad were upset they couldn't get a room at the Marriot on Copley Square this weekend like they always do. As it turns out, sometimes God is watching out for us and we don't even know it.

And now back to your regularly scheduled (and week overdue) blather.

Down another 2.8 pounds this week for a total of 33.2! Closing in on those goals as fast as I can! This week I also shaved a whole ten minutes off my fastest 5K time ("fastest" of course being entirely relative - 55 minutes to 45 minutes in this case). A time like that back in September would have put me, well, if not in the middle of the pack at least in the middle of the end of the pack. Fourth from last, FTW!!!

These past few weeks have been characterized by what I euphemistically describe as
"misunderstandings". To wit:

Misunderstanding #1: the four legged one. I did some dog sitting this weekend for Casey (aka "dog of Mom and Dad"). Despite being somewhat middle aged for a dog at 12 years, she effectively put me to shame as Sophia and I took her on a hike at Bolton Notch State Park. The trail we took went up a small but moderately steep hill, along a ridge and back down again. We hiked for about an hour and she effectively towed me along enthusiastically (with regularly scheduled screeching halts to sniff rocks, trees, other dogs, and horse poop) for the entire time. I'm not sure what it says about me that I can be outpaced by a middle-aged dog, but I took comfort in the fact that immediately after we got home she did this:

 

while I was able to continue going about my day (read: I was insanely jealous because I wanted to take a nap, too!) Having been brought up in my family, Casey is equally as accustomed to haute cuisine (read: "people food") as Gatsby is. She is well known for ignoring her dog food until she samples what Mom and Dad are having for dinner. She too fell victim to my recently acquired habit of weighing and measuring. Unlike Gatsby, who in recent weeks has escalated from mere caterwauling to launching outright bids to steal my food (he has successfully liberated a granola bar and made several aggressive attempts to abscond with a Subway turkey sandwich while I was on the phone with my sister. It's worth mentioning that said sandwich was in my lap at the time.) Casey prefers a more subtle approach:

Impossible to ignore, no? If there is no food sharing, it only becomes progressively more pitiful. You'd think the full bowl of dog food in the other room was merely for decorative purposes. Roof, on the other hand, continues to regard these strange creatures with questionable taste warily from her perch on the stairs.

A psychiatric breakthrough was achieved this week when she permitted couch petting even though Casey was curled up asleep on the other end. I would never have believed it possible. I tried to reward such a brave foray into the unknown with cat treats but, well, she doesn't like those either. Le sigh...

Misunderstanding #2: the two-wheeled one. I've written here before about the many joys of running in my neighborhood. It never fails that my ostensibly well meaning but slightly eccentric neighbors will make me smile. This week was no exception. I was on one of my one minute walk breaks when a young man on a bicycle approached. He said "I always see you out here running. Maybe you should just buy a bike, it's a lot faster." Fortunately I was saved from having to respond beyond a smile and a nod by Jillian's voice in my ear telling me to start running again. But I'm curious. Does he think I'm actually running to somewhere? Because running really strikes me as a poor mode of transportation. You'd be all sweaty and smelly when you got there, not to mention extremely out of breath. Also, I don't often make social or business calls dressed in my gym clothes. Just a point to ponder.

Misunderstanding #3: the wheels off one. As you know, Weight Watchers allows you to track your activity and convert it into extra points. I generally rack up a significant number every week, one could say I am literally running my butt off out there (rimshot! Thanks, I'll be here all night!). I never actually use them, but have come to view them as a point of pride. Weight Watchers defines "jogging" as a speed of 4-5 miles per hour and "running" as >5 miles per hour. I was disappointed initially to have to classify myself as a jogger and eventually I worked up to running 5 miles per hour for a portion of one of my runs. Imagine my disappointment when I found that there is no difference in activity points between running and jogging. Excuse my French, but what the shit, Weight Watchers? I refuse to believe I didn't burn more calories by running faster. I demand reparations in the form of mint chocolate chip ice cream. And not the gross Weight Watchers kind either. I thought this was better than Nigel's kumquat system but now I'm not so sure. Sigh. I miss Nigel.

Best Non-Running Related Discovery This Week: The West Wing on Netflix. I was probably too young and politically naive to appreciate it ten years ago, but I am thoroughly enjoying it now. I've always had kind of a mini-crush on Bradley Whitford and now I find myself really wanting to vote for President Bartlett. I wonder how many people have written him in over the years?

What's On Tap For This Week:
Sunday: Casey hauls me up and down a small mountain (done!)
Monday: 3 mile run (done!)
Tuesday: 3 mile run
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 30 minute walk
Friday: off
Saturday: 3 mile run

Wish me luck, and as always, if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!

Hey, At Least I Updated the Yodel Graph This Week, Right?

Week 11 Complete!! Whoo-hoo!!

Apologies for the late, short post. I'd like to start by saying thank you, thank you, thank you to all who encouraged me during my brief moment of petty whining earlier this week. You all helped me remember than just because I can go to Taco Bell doesn't mean I should go to Taco Bell. That being said, I'm on service this month at work and time is limited. The quick update: down another 3.2 pounds for a total of 30.4!  Also, some guy in my neighborhood thinks I should invest in a bicycle.  But more on that next week...

What's On Tap For This Week:
Sunday: off
Monday: 30 minute walk
Tuesday: 3 mile run
Wednesday: 3 mile run
Thursday: off
Friday: 30 minute walk
Saturday: 3 mile run

Tune in next week for more! Wish me luck, and as always, if you find me collapsed in a heap on the side of the road, do the decent thing and at least offer me a ride home!