Want to go to sleep...

This has been a tiresome week. I'm not sure why, but I was exhausted last night. I've been running around a lot, I guess, but no more than usual, and the week's not over yet. Saturday I'm going to play basketball, which will be good for my plateaued weight, but it means I'll be tired again. Or, maybe I'll be energized, just more sore. I'll definitely be hitting up some ibuprofen before I do that though. After high school graduation, we had an all-nighter at a Gold's Gym in Provo, I think. My friends and I spent almost all the night playing basketball. Then I drove home, got a couple hours sleep and went to work.

Those were the days. Minimum wage, no girlfriend, no Masi, living in Goshen.

Ok, maybe they weren't that great. At least I had more energy.

Weight: 198.8
BFP: 20.4

Overdrive and shoes and such

Well, this is it. No more excuses. It's time to kick it up a notch. And other locker room euphemisms. I've been stuck at the same weight for a couple of weeks now, and though I've been sick, I've been relatively better for a few days now. So tonight, weights, ball workout. Every day, ride. Saturday, run. As the weather gets better I'm going to start running in the morning, or evening, I'm not sure which. The problem with running in the morning is that it's my only time to write in the day, but there's probably 20 minutes in the evening when I can sneak out for a run.

This is going to be a busy week. FHE tonight, tutoring Wed., correlation Thurs., and who knows what else?

Oh yes, free shoes on Thursday! Woohoo! Last week this company did a promotion where you send in an old pair of your shoes and they send you a new pair of theirs. I would have told everyone about it, but I only found out a few hours before the promotion ended and barely had time to ship off my old shoes, so I'm getting a pair of these on Thursday:


Some people think they are ugly, but I kinda like the way they look. Plus, they're made out of Cordura instead of the wet tissue paper they make canvas Vans out of these days, so they should be a lot more durable. Although my old Vans that I got for 16 bucks at TJ Maxx lasted a few years, but they weren't made out of the canvas, they were sort of, uh, wool? The uppers were still in good shape, but there were big holes in the soles.

Holes in the soles. Sounds like a crappy indie band.


Weight: 199
BFP 23
Activity-N/A

Move over, I'm crowded.

Well, today is the first day in the last two weeks that I feel somewhat normal. No urge to cough, less running of the nose, clearer head. Still not 100%, but I will be soon. Unfortunately, although I seem to be losing weight at a good pace, my body fat is still high, at least according to my Wal-Mart scale. So, I need to hit the weights more, and do some ball workouts.

The bike path yesterday was incredibly crowded. Along with the usual fair-weather commuters, and runners, there was a crush of walkers, rollerbladers, stragglers, gagglers and ne'er-do-wells. I can only hope that the realization that exercise is hard work, coupled with the colder weather next week forces some of them back indoors.

I'm going to try to duck out a few minutes earlier today and avoid the rush. I already miss the days when it was 25 degrees and I was the only one riding. Well, not really. 58 degrees is pretty great. Yesterday I even forgot my gloves and I was fine.



Weight: 198.2
BFP: 21.7
Activity: Bike 16 miles

One for the weakened

Looking down Michigan Ave on a typical Chicago day

I didn't get much sleep last night, which is strange because I slept great the night before. I tried to replicate the conditions, showered before, took some nyquil, but it was terrible. My lungs were all phlegmy and I couldn't breathe without wheezing and I couldn't fall asleep without coughing and waking myself up. The only good thing is that I should be tired enough now to sleep through any irritation. Hopefully.

I need to recover by this weekend, because I need to start riding again on Monday. I am not sick. I am perfectly healthy and strong. I am powerful. I am not very good at lying to myself.


Weight: 200
BFP 21.3
Activity: Playing games on my phone at 3am while trying to fall asleep.

Numerschmology

Today is March 11, 3-11. Today is my birthday. I am 33. 3x11=33. there has to be some significance in that. Right? I was born in '77, which is also a multiple of 11. 7, uh days in the week? Ok, I've pretty much lost it here. Still, it seems important, on some level.

This morning I got on the scale, fully prepared for the worst after a week of relative inactivity. Amazingly enough, I had actually lost a little bit. I was finally under 200 pounds, for the first time in at least ten years.

So that was nice.

I'm still sick though. But feeling better.

Yay.

Weight: 199.4
BFP: 21
Activity: Huddle on the couch, trying to catch one of the dogs to snuggle with.

Yuck

Well, after successfully avoiding the flu all winter long, it hit me like a ton of mucus-soaked bricks on Friday. I stayed at home all day Saturday and Sunday, but wasn't any better by Monday. I still came into work, but left early. This morning, I felt a little better, but as the day wears on I'm not feeling great again. The worst part is that in just a couple of days I've gone from being able to ride all-out for eight miles to wheezing after climbing the subway steps. And it's going to be at least a few more days until I can ride my bike again, even though the weather is turning super-relatively-warm, if a little wet. Tomorrow it's going to be 57! And I'll be stuck underground, packed in a metal tube with a bunch of people. With no ipod!

Well, I have my phone, and it has 8 gigs of storage space, but loading it with music is proving extremely problematic. This morning, I had to sit by a couple of "theatre" students who were discussing their stupid play and talking so loud the entire car could hear them! Argh. It got to be too much for me, so I pulled out my laptop and plugged in my earphones to drown them out. Not exactly convenient.

So where was I? Oh yes, I haven't weighed myself in a few days, my head's been in too much of a fog to even think about weight loss. right now I just have to concentrate on eradicating this nasty little virus.

Yuck.

Weight: No idea
BFP: Feeling fat
Activity: In-

200 or bust?

(photo by me, with my blackberry's awesome 1 megapickle camera)

It's been a few weeks since I started this challenge, and while I haven't really hit a major roadblock, it seems that getting under 200 pounds this week is going to require a little more effort. It may even mean skipping the pizza part of pizza and a movie night! Oh noes! Well, at least I'm healthy in other regards. For my health insurance, I had my blood taken and the results came back the other day. My cholesterol was an amazingly low 148, although the LDL level could've been lower and the HDL could stand to be higher. Everything was well in the normal range though, including my blood pressure, which was good.

I have a feeling though, that once I get below 200 it's still going to be just as hard to get the weight off. I really need to start running.

Eh. Running. I don't mind running, it's just not fun. I saw an ad once that said "I bought my first pair of (insert shoe brand here) because I wanted to look like a runner. I bought my last pair because I felt like a runner." I would have to say, over the course of my life I have never "felt" like a runner. Even a few years ago when I was running a lot and did a bunch of 5k's, I never "felt" like a runner. I felt like a big, awkward guy passing the old and obese people, but never going as fast as the "real" runners.

Plus, running for me is like a countdown. I start running and I'm counting the minutes, counting the miles, counting the blocks left until I'm done. It's not like riding a bike, where I love the actual act of doing it and could do it for an extremely extended period of time. Or even playing basketball, where the running actually accomplishes something. Running is just running.

But it's something I have to do. Blech.

Weight: 201.2

BFP: 21

Activity: Bike 16 miles

Now look really angry for me. Perfect.

Always watching

One of our clients is Outside Magazine, and we recently did some posters for them. One was the cover photo of Lance Armstrong, looking brooding and/or pensive. The first print turned out a little too orange, so I kept it and hung it above my cubicle, to sort of motivate me.

The problem is, the photo looks so dark and menacing that it catches me off-guard all the time. It looks like some angry guy is peeking over my desk, glaring at me. Oh well. I probably just have a guilty conscience.


Shifting to a slightly new format, besides the color and whatnot, I'll be keeping track of my weight and BFP as of the morning I type the entry, as usual, but instead of estimating what the day's activity will be, since I usually fall short, I'll keep track of what I actually did the previous day. Make sense? Good.

Weight: 202
BFP: 21
Activity: Bike 20 miles, weights

Bike stuff

(Not my bike, but the same model, only much cleaner and more dramatically posed)

This morning I weighed in at 203, not bad, but I haven't made any progress since last week. Or rather, I made a little progress over the week then lost it all over the weekend. This weekend I wasn't able to get out at all, due to other commitments. And it was snowing and cold last week, so I only rode to work twice. This week though, it should be warmer, although somewhat snowy. The trail this morning was nice and clear and the 32 degrees meant that I could leave the leg warmers at home. I'm really looking forward to riding without tights again. I don't really mind them, and they do a good job of keeping my legs warm, but they're such a hassle to get on and off. Plus, how can I show off my awesome calves?

This week I'm going to make the multi-geared transition on my bike. This will be good for longer distances, plus since I'm selling my mountain bike it will serve dual-duty as road and mountain bike for me without having to change out the gearing. I've owned many bikes over the years, but this one is by far my favorite. It'll probably outlast me, unless I let it get rusty. I've really been itching to go for some long rides, so as soon as it gets acceptably warm, I'll be headed out at 6am on Saturdays for some 40 mile+ rides.

Weight: 203
BFP: 21.0
Activity: Bike 16 miles