The Long Haul

Weekly Stats
Current: 204.0
Weekly Gain: .4
To Go: 29.0
Total 121.0

Bad news on the scale again this week, but the gain was not as dramatic as last week. I am still focused on the training for the half on the 30th.

I ran 11 miles for my long run on Saturday. It was a tough run, but I made it and am optimistic for success when I run the real thing. I need to run a 12 miler for my last long training run. I would normally do this on Saturday, but we are taking the Scouts out this weekend and won't be getting back until early evening on Saturday. I would be a mess if I delayed the run until then. So my plan is to do my long run early Thursday morning.

I almost signed up for a marathon last week, but it filled up 6 hours before I was ready to click the button. There is another marathon a few weeks later, but this one doesn't fill up as quickly. I will make a decision on whether to run a marathon or not after I have run the half. Anyone out there had any experience running a full marathon?

After the half, I am going to focus on getting the rest of this weight off. It will be good to get it off. I feel so much better now having over 120 lbs off and I know that getting the last 30 off will be even better. It is weird to say, but I am actually looking forward to losing the weight in spite of the pain involved.

A shout out to Janet and her husband for getting back into getting the weight off. It's hard to start back up after a diversion! Way to go! Bill ran the St. George in spite of an injury! Nice Bill! Hillary is looking great after her weight loss! Whooohoooo! Hang in there and I will too!

Nothing to Lose

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.6
Weekly Gain: 1.8
To Go: 28.6
Total 121.4

I am still up and down on my weight. Can't seem to get down below 200 again. Though I am looking forward to the half marathon in a couple of weeks, I will be glad to get back into an increased emphasis on getting my weight down. I seriously will bounce up and down from 5 to 8 lbs each week since I started training. You would think with as much work as I am putting in that the pounds would melt off, but it's not the case. I have a feeling that once I get back into my previous training and mix it up a bit that things will be more consistent.

I was going to hike Timp once last time this last Saturday, but we had a cool-down in the weather. Timp has had snow on the top for several days, not a whole lot, but it would probably would have been a bit sloppy. I decided to hike Big Baldy going up Dry Canyon and coming back down Battle Creek. I estimated about 10 miles and it ended up being over 11.5 miles. I think that this hike is harder than Timp. Even though it is less mileage, it is quite steep and the heart rate is high most of the time.

Thanks again for the encouragement. Keep up the good work everyone! Hang in there and I will too!

Hiking in Circles

Weekly Stats
Current: 201.6
Weekly Loss: 0.6
To Go:
26.8 Total 123.2

I have to make a disclaimer on my weight. It is still jumping around quite a bit, so I am taking my best weight loss day over a four day period (Friday - Monday). I have logged my food intake this last week and it has really helped.

I ran 10 miles on my long run on Saturday. I was concerned going into this run weather it would be tough like my eight mile run or great like my 10 mile run. It turned out to be a mixture of both. Between mile two and three, I did not feel good and thought it might last the whole time, but as soon as I hit the canyon and headed up things started getting better. By the time I hit my turn-around point and was able to go downhill from there, I felt pretty good. I even had an eye opener for me.

I had been reading some other blogs and saw how many focused on just the physical challenges of losing weight. Many challenged themselves to a certain amount of miles over a stated period of time, but not many set many dietary goals over the same period. I had a epiphany about when people get lost, they tend to travel in circles. This happens because we usually have a dominant leg. One leg is usually stronger than the other and without a sense of direction the one leg over the course of time leads us back to where we started from.

I think this is true if we dominate on either diet or exercise without setting goals in the other. We can make great headway with our health and fitness by lifting or aerobic exercise, but if we don't watch our diets, our appetites increase and it doesn't take much to undo the calories we burned while exercising. The opposite is true as well. If we just focus on dieting, we lose weight, but we suffer physically because we lose not only fat, but muscle as well. When the diet is over, we can gain the fat back, but not much muscle in the process so we are worse off than when we started. We need to stay balanced on both fronts. We need to have good physical goals and challenges, but we need to watch what is going into our bodies as well. Feed your body what it needs, in portions that are appropriate for you height and weight.

Shout out to Hillary who reached her weight goal. Great job! Bill H. completed the St. George Marathon (his 7th!) in spite of having a recent injury! Wow Bill, way to go! Thanks Mom for the great article on Drew Carey! He is inspirational in what he has done. Thanks for keeping mee motivated Mom! Hang in there and I will too!

9 miler

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.4
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.4
Total 122.6

It has been hard to lose weight with the extra training that I have done. I am trying to keep my body fueled and repaired with the extra work, but it hasn't led to much of a weight loss. I am going to commit to keeping track of my intake with a food journal for the next two weeks to make sure I am not eating too much. I do need to be careful though that I am eating the right types of food as well. Hopefully next week will see better progress in losing weight. I read a little blurb that said that tracking calories has a much bigger impact in weight loss than exercising does. Exercising is essential, but the calories that you burn in a workout can easily be undone by unwise food choices.

Two weeks ago, I ran eight miles for my long run. It was the hardest run I have done in a long time. Friday, my nine mile run was just the opposite. It was a challenge, but I felt good most of the run. I kept hydrated and also kept fueled. It didn't take much to keep my energy up and it sure helped me keep going.

A big shout out to Hillary! Lost 10 lbs and looks great! Way to go! Proud of you! Phil is keeping after it and seems to be enjoying life! Bill, I hope you heal up quick and can run this weekend! Good luck. Keep working hard everyone. Hang in there and I will too!

Timp II

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.6
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.6
Total 122.4

Saturday was my official hike Timp day. Last spring, I had about 5 people express interest in hiking, but by the time the hike came, no one could go. I just felt like I needed to stick to my commitment of hiking. I blogged earlier about the hike I did a few weeks back on the Aspen Grove trail. This Saturday I went up the Timponokee trail. It is amazing how many people hike Timp from this trail head. I got there shortly before 6am in the dark and the lot was already full. I parked out on the road and had to hike to even get to the trail head. The first part of the hike was with a headlamp on. After about 45 minutes it was light enough to see without it and I was able to see the fall colors. It was a beautiful morning and I made good time without having to stop much. This trail was not as steep, but it was a bit longer. I made it to the summit about 10am. Even though the day was forecast into the 90's, it was still cold as the wind blew up on top. I ate a sandwich and headed back down. I figure I cut between a half to a full hour from my last hike. I was glad I went. The biggest contrast for me between the two trails was, the Aspen Grove hike left me exhausted, but very sore. This hike left me sore, but not near as exhausted.

I have not given up on my goal of getting down to 175. I have found though that when you are training at longer distances, that it is hard to cut back much calorie wise. You put the body through so much, that it needs to be fueled during training and recovered from what you are asking it to do. I need to be patient and make sure that I continue to eat right. After the half marathon I can focus in a bit more on losing this last 25 or so lbs.

Things are kind of quiet on the shout out end of things. It's not that people aren't doing great things I'm sure. It's that I just haven't heard about them. I did notice that Phil is continuing to log great workouts. Great job Phil!!! Thanks as always for the support and encouragement. So many people have been kind to me so a big shout out to you all! Hang in there and I will too!

Training

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.8
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.8
Total 122.2

I stayed on track this week on my training for the half marathon. Saturday was my long run and even though it was a struggle I was able to go 8 miles. First time that I had to deal with my legs tightening up. Not enough to stop me, but I could tell that they were thinking about cramping. Could have been a lot of factors. I took the scouts out camping the night before and so I was a little out of my routine. I also carried a water bottle of Gatorade and tried sipping on it, but my son-in-law thinks that I might not of had enough regular water to go along with it. According to the training schedule that I have been following, I am scheduled for a 10K this Saturday, but I am doing the official Timp hike this week. I know that will be a good workout as well. I will give a full report next week on that.


Shout out to Barry and Sue who I saw up on the trail as I was running. Great job! Sue has lost weight and Barry said she put in 40 minutes on Saturday! Barry is getting better after a few things that set him back and didn't go as far as Sue, but put in the time. Way to go to both of you! Haven't heard from my usual running neighbors this last week. Hope all is well with them! Corey and Emiy continue to put in the time running and walking this last week as well. I am proud of both of you. Barbara is focusing in on eating right again and she continues her workouts like she has done for years! Great job sweetie! Hang in there and I will too!

Heading Back Down

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.0
Weekly Loss: 0.8
To Go: 28.0
Total 122.0

Things finally turned back around this last week and I am posting a loss! Yea!!!! I was a bit worried about the gain. Hopefully I will trend back down.

This week's training for the half marathon went well. I went on a 7 mile long run on Saturday. It was a bit of a challenge cause I had to start later in the day than I usually due. I wasn't ready for the warm day that it was, but I still was able to complete the run. I was tired after though, but I still got a lot done around the house after so all in all it was good. All of my other runs went really well and I am still enjoying the running.

Today is Labor Day. Hope it is good for everyone. Maybe summer is officially over on the 21st, but for me, this is the last hurrah. Here come the cooler temps, the changing leaves and hopefully the falling pounds!

Couple of my running friends in the ward are struggling with running injuries. Here's hoping for a quick recovery for both Bill and Todd! My brother Gordon is struggling with his back as well. Hope that heals up all the way for you as well. Congrats to my cousin Lisa who just got married over the weekend! She has been constantly cheering for me from the beginning. Thanks to the rest of you as well!
Hang in there and I will too!