Stop calling me Ishmael

Knock on wood, but I have to say, I'm feeling pretty damn good right now. I've had two nights in a row now where I haven't had to chew Ibuprofen like Tic Tacs to be able to get to sleep. Normally, even on nights that I don't run, my knees and hips ache like crazy, and I have a hell of a time getting to sleep. But I've run for 2 or 3 days straight now, and oddly enough, my legs feel awesome. A lot of it has to do with warming up better before running, and a lot has to do with eating better and losing weight. It doesn't look like I am going to make my target weight for the competition at work, but that's OK. At least the scales are moving in the right direction again. If things keep going according to plan, I may even be able to swim in public this summer without having to worry about keeping an eye out for the Pequod.

I've been hovering around the 245 mark for a couple of days now, and I would really like to be down in the 240 range by this time next week. It really hasn't been that hard losing the weight, it has just been a matter of cutting down on the snacks and soda. I'm pretty sure I've cut out between 500-700 calories per day. While I don't feel like I am eating any less, it sure seems to have made a difference. I thought about trying to really cut weight for the end of the contest, but I just don't think it would be worth it. It wouldn't be real weight loss in that short of time, and it has been too hot to mess around too much with trying to lose a lot of water weight. I didn't end up running Saturday until about 12:30 in the afternoon, and I have to say, it was hot. I mean Hell-like hot. And we really aren't into the heart of summer yet. I think it is important to adapt to the heat, though. All of my runs can't be after 10 at night, I guess. Losing weight should help with the heat also. Common sense and cooking websites tell us that fat is a lot hotter than muscle, which is why you don't place a meat thermometer in the fat to get an internal temperature while cooking. (Sorry, we don't all have IPods to occupy our minds while running and it was really hot. I don't know why that's where my mind went about 2 miles in.)

So right now, everything is going according to plan. I feel like the last week has given me hope that, yes, I can do this. My legs are starting to feel strong enough that now I can start to work on getting my lungs in shape. The next step is to make a conscious effort to start adding muscle as I reduce the fat. Hopefully, muscle doesn't bounce as much as fat while lumbering down the road. And who knows, maybe the heat won't be so bad if I can stop wearing this damn sports bra....