Week What?

Oy. No weekly updates since my weight's stalled at 166. I'm eating whatever I want to eat nowadays. I still find somewhat HEALTHY things to eat - it's just that I've been eating enough to maintain my weight versus getting down to the 150 pound goal I have for myself by June 26. I can still make it happen if I start changing my eating habits next week.

I really want a six pack. Funny how that's a physical goal of mine yet -- for what? It's not like, once I get there, I'm gonna go up to people and ask, "Hey - wanna see something cool? Check it out?" then lift up my shirt. Or what? If I get my dream abs, will I take a pic and post as my newest profile picture on Facebook? Ummm... certainly not. What's the whole point of getting my bod in that type of shape?

Good question.

I guess I'd HAVE to take pictures if I get to that goal, right? So then, one day, I can look back at it and say, "Wow, I was kinda hot from the neck down at one point in my life." Ugh. That doesn't even sound right.

Maybe I can put myself in a situation where I need to take off my shirt to help somebody out. Like, it's a hot day, and someone has a flat tire. And all I've got is a t-shirt but it's just so disgustingly sweaty so I have to take it off to continue working. Or, this is a little far fetched but... maybe I'll go to a beach. I think people take their shirts off there to relax.

I'm really hoping to be able to seriously get to this dream of mine. I am already kinda seeing the center of my abs separate form the love handles. I mean, it's still a gut but certainly an improvement from four months ago. It's a work in progress. Must move forward with these important bucket list goals.

Run Rodney Run

I'm very very very very very happy with my 12K run today. The Seattle Seahawks were the sponsor of this run in Renton. The 12K distance is not typical - it's the distance of choice because it goes together with the whole Seahawk "12th Man" theme.

Going into the run I had my heart set on doing the best I could do. And I sure did go for it. As much as I love running with my friends, I quickly abandoned them in order to just focus on doing the best I could do. I've done two runs since last fall in which I averaged a 12- and 11-minute mile. I decided that I wanted to improve on those runs and get back to the under 10-minute paces I had back in 2002-2004.

It really felt great. Even though there were several ups & downs with the hills along the course, I was able to maintain a doable pace. At the end of the first mile, I was right under ten minutes. Each mile after that, my pace was actually improving. Once I reached the 6-minute mile, I had been running 57 minutes and knew I could finish the last mile in less than 10 minutes - far under my goal of 70 minutes.

So there I was. Go Rodney go! Just a little more to go. I was in the general vicinity of the finish line and knew I wouldn't take much longer. But after awhile, the course kept wrapping around and around this one area. What the heck? Where was the end? Why were they putting us through this maze? Oh no! My timer showed 67 minutes and I was starting to get worried. Every time I thought I was near the end, ready for a sprint, it wasn't really the end. Adrenalin was pumping through me but I held it back. And by trying to pull back, I started to feel queasy. My stomach. Oh, no. I felt like I needed to throw-up.

Oh gawd. It was getting really bad at one point. I started to mildly dry heave. Oh dear lord - don't make me puke. Okay, a little slower. I'll be okay. Alright, I'm okay.

And there it was. I could see it. The finish line! I was getting super close but... oh crap! No, no, no! The nauseousness was back. But I couldn't stop my legs. I just kept moving and I couldn't hold back the need to puke. I kept praying I wouldn't lose it in front of everyone. It was close but I thankfully didn't hurl. But that didn't mean I didn't look the fool. I was dry heaving over & over & over again. I covered my mouth hoping people wouldn't see. But I know they saw me. So embarrassing! But at least I didn't puke. That would have been horrible.

So, aside from that, I had a great run. Sadly, I finished the race in 1:11:32. A minute and a half longer than my goal of 70 minutes. But the awesomest news is that 12 kilometers much more than 7 miles. It's friggin 7.45 miles. That means I finished with a 9:35 pace per mile. My real goal was staying under a 10-minute pace and I done it.

Here's a pic of us runners:
I'm on the far left next to my pals Roman & Karen. Then there's Leah who ran the 12K with us. Her husband, Fernando, is squatting with their dog Owen. Kat's between the two of 'em. And the folks on the far right are their friends who I just met today.

Next up, is Beat the Bridge in May. It's an 8K. Last time I ran this race in 2003, I lost to the bridge. That's certainly not happening this year.

Week 19: 166.0

Reasons why I only lost 0.6 pounds this past week:

a) Ate lots of junk yesterday (cupcakes, appetizers, etc)
b) Pretty much ate lots over the entire week
c) Didn't have a chance to poop before my weigh-in

For real on that last reason. That really does take about 0.8lbs away from me weight. But, ya know, a loss is a loss is a loss is a loss.

Week 18: 166.6

I lost about 2.6 pounds this week! Whoo hoo! Bad news, is that I just weighed myself (Sunday evening) and I'm up to 171.2 pounds. Isn't that crazy how a very bad day of eating can make your weight fluctuate so much?

Next week, I'll be running the longest run in my life - a 12K run at the The Landing in Renton. That's a seven mile run. Yesterday, I ran five miles broken in half by a ten minute stretching break. I was with a group of folks and decided to do whatever the group did. Felt good but I really wish I had tried my hand at running the whole distance without stopping.

I'll do a couple of more runs this week. Weather's sucky so it's gonna be interesting. I'm tired... time to sleep.