Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The Plan

As promised, here is the running plan. It is the second one down, the "To Finish" program. Nothing too fancy. Today is the Wednesday of week 3. I had planned to do some cross-training today, but my legs (and the rest of me) feel exhausted, so I decided to just lounge tonight. Emma actually fell asleep early tonight, and I've taken full advantage of that by not doing anything even remotely productive.

I needed to run between 30 and 45 minutes last night, so I headed uptown at about 10 and took off. I felt really good and strong for about the first 20 minutes, and then I really started to peter out. I think I may have gone out a little fast, and paid for it at the end of the run. The tendons in my knees really started to bother me. Didn't feel like injury pain, just overuse strain. I'm not sure my legs were completely healed from the 4 miler I ran on Sunday. So I ended up walking more than I had planned, but that is OK. It still seemed like a productive run and I ended up going for 44 minutes.

I'm hoping that fighting through runs like last night will be helpful come Nov 19th. Who knows how I'm going to feel on race day? That is one of the good (or bad) things about running on the road. If you are in the middle of an out and back run, and you start having problems, you don't have many options. You can either gut it out, or you can quit. Quitting sounded like a pretty good choice last night, but eventually, someone would have missed me. Probably not anybody at home, but maybe at work this morning when my group needed someone to complain to.....

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Going the Distance

So I picked up Galloway's marathon book today to try and decide which of his programs to follow for the marathon and thought I should also break out the calendar to find out when I needed to start. Turns out, all of his programs are basically 26 weeks and the marathon is 25 weeks from today. Hmm. Looks like I am going to have to start to focus a little bit. That's cool, though, because I've been running pretty regularly and it will be nice to get a little more organized with my training.

His programs are split into a few basic categories: The Beginner Program, "To Finish" program, Fat-Burning Program, and Time-Goal Programs (4:40, 4:20, 4:00, 3:45, 3:30, 3:15, 2:59, or 2:39). I decided on the 2:39 program, because running for 2 1/2 hours sounds a hell of a lot better than running for 6 hours. But it turns out, to run it in 2:39, you just have to run quite a bit faster, the race isn't actually any shorter. So I guess I will do the "To Finish" program instead. It doesn't look like there will be any problem starting on the second week (actually, the third week since the weeks run from Monday to Sunday). The last day of week 2 is a long run of 4 miles and I did that tonight. I read somewhere that running is not very much fun when you first start out, and I am a living testament to that. For weeks now, everytime I ran, my knees hurt, my feet hurt, and my hips hurt. I couldn't run very far and I damn sure couldn't run very fast. But the last couple of weeks, I feel like I have turned a corner, and I am starting to enjoy the process. My 4 mile run tonight was a perfect example. I drove out a 4 mile route before I took off, and it sure seemed like a long way. But once I got going, the time really seemed to fly. I started off walking for the first 5 minutes to get loosened up, and then alternated 3 minutes of running with 2 minutes of walking for the rest of the 4 miles. Actually, the last 15 or 20 minutes, I probably only walked 3 or 4 minutes. I ended up completing the run in about 55 minutes, which is a little under a 15:00 pace. It was actually a little faster if you don't count the 5 minute warm up. On long run days, the pace should be about 2 minutes/mile slower than normal pace anyway, so that was fine.

I've been done now for probably 4 hours, and I feel great. I feel like I could go out right now and run again! It is really strange, because it has been awhile since I have felt this way. It is still hard to imagine what it will feel like after losing another 40 pounds or so. I will lay out the schedule for next week soon, but for now, tomorrow I need to walk/cross train for 40 minutes. Piece of cake....

Friday, May 26, 2006

On the Road Again

I've been doing most of my running at the track lately. It is nice and flat, and I know exactly how far I am running. But for the last couple of days, there has been a conspiracy afoot. They have been re-surfacing the track, so the whole place is chained up. So twice this week I did my running here in my neighborhood, which is fine, but very hilly. That is OK every once in awhile, but it really wears on me after two straight days. My legs felt like they were full of lead yesterday, and still felt pretty dead today. (That last line sounded like some really lame ass poetry).

So today, I decided to get back out on the road. I headed uptown to the temple, put the key to the truck in the little pocket inside my running shorts, and just took off. I really had no idea where I was going to run or how far, I just knew that I felt like running. So I spent the next 2 miles playing a little game I like to call "find the flat spot in the road". I mentioned awhile back that Oklahoma seems as flat as 3 day old Pepsi until you start running or riding a bike, and then it feels like you can't find a flat spot. One other thing you don't really notice while driving is how the road slants down to both curbs or shoulders so the rainwater can drain (damn you Isaac Newton!!). Running up and down hill is damn hard work, but it doesn't hurt like running on the side of a slanting road. But I had a really good run, and watching where you step (up and down curbs, traffic whizzing by at 40 mph) really takes your mind off of the pain, so the time seemed to fly by. I think I'm going back out tomorrow to do the same thing....

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Blues

Days like today make me really appreciate blues music. I was so stressed today, it seems like I did nothing but eat. We had a going away party for one of the managers at work today, and it was catered by Ted's, which was pretty cool. But I still feel out of place with the managers, so it all seemed a little awkward. We have no groceries in the house, so we got pizza for dinner, and I had probably 4 pieces. I still ran tonight, but I felt gross and heavy so it didn't feel like I got much accomplished.

So I think I am going to take a nice, cool shower, pop some Muddy Waters into the CD player, maybe some John Lee Hooker, and try to shut down as much as possible.

By the way, I think I figured out my first race of the year. The Bricktown Blaze. How often do you run a race where the finish line is home plate of a minor league baseball stadium? Sounds pretty cool.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

People

One of the things I dislike about getting older and becoming a more responsible person is the fact that I have to spend more and more of my time worrying about other people's thoughts and feelings. For the record, let me get this out before I go any further: People suck. People are stupid and I don't understand what is (or isn't) going through their heads at any point and time. One of the things I was unprepared for when I took over my supervisor role at work is how much bitching goes on about the dumbest shit. Maybe I just never noticed it because I'm usually the one doing all of the bitching. I'll give you that. Trust me, I am not holding myself above others, because I suck just as much as anybody. I complain alot, and a big portion of the time I'm pretty sure I'm not that much fun to be around. I've accepted this about myself, and I try to protect others from my scorn, ridicule and derision by just staying away from people as much as possible.

Aaron and others like to listen to music while they run, but I like to pass time by imagining I am applying the triangle to people who get on my bad side. I'm a big dude, and I have a huge bad (and back) side. The newest target of my ire seems to be bad baseball parents. By and large, the parents on my team are a nice bunch of people, but there are some people who seem to think that my style of coaching (kids having fun, getting to play different positions, not getting yelled at, etc) is not the best for their kids. And maybe they are right. Maybe 7 year old kids need to be taught that winning is everything and who cares if the smaller kids have to play right field and bat last every game. I mean sportsmanship doesn't really apply in today's day and age does it? Who cares if the kids aren't having fun? We're winning right??

I'm starting to learn that you can't make everybody happy. Seems like a revelation, huh? Maybe my much loved lack of interaction with others has left me a little naive. I just assumed (and made an ass of me) that if everyone's kids were learning the game and having fun, that people would be happy? Am I that big of a dumbass? Nevermind, don't answer that. I guess for now, I am going to let the bitching from parents go, and just ignore it. Maybe we will have to talk, eventually, but I don't think that would be in anyone's best interest.

By the way, I was getting ready to eat some fettucine tonight when I read Aaron's blog, and his running is going so well, I couldn't get myself to eat the unhealthy food and went running instead. Stupid peer pressure....

Sunday, May 21, 2006

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....

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Game On

Have I mentioned that I am a very competitive person? Not sure if I have. So, for the record, here goes. I am a very competitive person. I hate to lose at anything, to anybody. I've always been this way, so it is really nothing new. I don't think I ever lost that competitiveness, I just had a 8-10 year stretch where I never put myself in a situation where it was evident. Competition was something I thrived on for a long time, though, so hopefully it is like riding a bike. Maybe I just needed something to spark that fire again.

So yesterday, I am doing the usual and reading the blog's of all of my friends (I only have 2 or 3 friends so it doesn't take long), and I read on Aaron's blog how well his training for the marathon is going. Which is cool, because I wasn't even sure whether or not he had been running. He wrote about following Hal Higdon's training program (I think that is who they recommend on the Route 66 Marathon website), and even has a secret training program that he is using until starting Higdon's 18 week program. He has even been running up to 10 miles on his long run day.

Call me a child, but that got my competive juices flowing. I have no idea why that is, but it did. Instead of a friendly run, now my mind has turned it into a race. I know that wasn't Aaron's intention, but as anyone who knows me can tell you, my mind doesn't always follow a straight path. So I have a proposition for Aaron. You and Hal against me and Jeff, winner take all.

I think it is cool that we are taking different paths to Tulsa. You are wanting to run one race prior to November, and I want to race as much as possible. I'm taking walk breaks during the marathon, and I'm not sure whether you are or not since Hal also seems to think walk breaks are OK (Galloway wanna-be!). I'm still fat and you are getting in shape much faster.

The stakes: 1 (one) case of Lost Lake beer and all of the buffalo butts you can eat. You in??

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Bring on the Kenyans

OK, not really. But I did have a really good run tonight. Not sure how far or how fast, but it was somewhere in the 2 1/2 mile range. I started off walking for a half mile or so, and then started working in little bits of jogging. Everything was a little bit achy and sore from the last couple of nights, so I didn't think I was going to get much of a workout. But I really started to focus on my form, and things got a lot smoother. I ended up alternating quarter miles of running with eighth miles of walking for about a mile and a half. The last quarter I ran at a pretty good pace for me, and I tried to make sure to keep my steps short with a fast turnover. I love it when a plan comes together......

Happy Mothers Day Kary! Love you.

Too much TV

By the way, if you watch very much TV, especially reality TV, you need to check out this website. Click "read the blog" and then pick a show. I was reading up on some back episodes of Hell's Kitchen the other day, and this blog is the funniest thing I've seen in awhile. I'm a big fan of anything B-Side writes. Check it out.

Nice Kitty....

After a long day of not leaving the house, I finally got outside at about 10:30 tonight and went for a run. And I actually ran a lot more than usual today, so that was pretty cool. I'm starting to feel a difference both when I am running and just in my normal day to day stuff. I'm not really losing any weight, but I am starting to feel a little lighter on my feet. Once I start dropping the pounds, I can't imagine how I am going to feel. It is damn sad that I can't remember what it feels like to be in shape.

I think I may have had a breakthrough in my running form tonight. It took awhile to get there, but I think I figured it out. I mentioned some time last month that I was reading a book about Chi Running, and one of the main points was not to overtax the smaller muscles and tendons. The main way to avoid that seemed to be a good forward lean (without leaning from at the waist), concentrating on relaxing your feet, and shifting your stride focus to lifting from the hip instead of pushing off with your calves or feet. It is hard to describe in print, but I think I got it figured out tonight. One of the main things that helped seems to be shortening my stride and speeding up the turnover rate. I'm sure it looks a little funny, but it seemed to pound my knees a lot less and I actually started feeling it in my hip flexors instead of in my ITB.

So that brings us back to the diet. Daylen mentioned in a comment on one of the other posts that I should spend a couple of weeks eating and working out with him and it would seem like boot camp. While the thought of spending any more time than necessary with Daylen seems a little nauseating, the idea of a diet and exercise boot camp seems pretty interesting. One of the things Navy SEALs have to endure during training is Hell Week. It is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a week of almost no sleep, and constant punishment from the instructors. Besides fostering teamwork, the main point of this is to prove to the trainees how much their minds and bodies can withstand. Once you make it through Hell Week, everything seems easier. The weight loss challenge ends in about 2 weeks, so I am going to try and see how much weight I can lose in the next two weeks. So I am going to think of the next 2 weeks as Hell Weeks and really bear down on my eating and working out. I may not make weight, but any weight I lose is a good thing.

By the way, I have said numerous times how much I love running at night, and tonight was no exception. I got to pet one of the neighbor dogs for a little bit and I even saw a cat that I had never seen around the neighborhood before. A very pretty little black cat with 2 white stripes down his back. He wasn't very friendly, though. Every time I tried to pet him, he would turn around and raise his tail like he was going to run away. He must have been scared to death of me, poor thing. It was pretty dark, though, so maybe he just couldn't see me very well. I will have to keep an eye out for him next time, and maybe we can be friends. Who knows?

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Dime

You want to know why I can't go to bed at a decent hour? It is because the TV is better at 11pm than it is at 6am. Just stayed up too late watching Behind the Music on Pantera. Why is it always the good people that get shot instead of the assholes?!?! It still pisses me off that Dimebag Darrell (Dime) gets shot on stage, and people who do evil things are still walking the earth. There is no justice....

Lunch

So I started the lunch running yesterday, and I have to say, I think I like it. I have no excuse not to run, and I have plenty of time, so I didn't feel rushed at all. Normally, when I run of an evening time, I feel the need to hurry home and help Kary with the kids. Not sure why. Probably has nothing to do with her telling me to hurry home an average of 13.8 times every night. Very supportive, butthole! Just kidding. But I do find the word butthole hilarious. It makes me laugh like Butthead (which also sounds like butthole and also makes me laugh). But I digress...

I've measured the roads around my work, so I have an idea of how far I ran, but I just ran for time so it doesn't really matter. I ran for right around 45 minutes and really felt good. I can really feel the weakness in my hips and hamstrings, though, so that is something I definitely need to work on. One of the things I did was what I call step ups. Basically, I just walked along with one foot stepping on the curb with each step, and the other foot on the road. Sounds easy, but after walking for 30-40 steps like this with each leg, the glutes really start singing (hee hee). The other big difference between this and my usual running is the surface. The roads around my work are pure concrete, and most of the running I usually do is on blacktop. You wouldn't think it would be that much of a difference, but I can tell you, it is. The good news is that I am very sore today, but it is all good soreness. No knee problems, etc. Most of the soreness is in the tibialis anterior, vastus lateralis and the soleus (see here).

I was too sore to run at lunch today, coupled with the fact that I was busy and actually didn't take a lunch. I will make up for today's hard work tomorrow when we have our off-site coaches meeting (read bowling and pizza). So that should be fun. I'm hoping to feel well enough tomorrow night to get out and run a little . I wish I was in better shape now, because there are some really cool races going on out there. Pascal is doing the Lazy E Duathlon this weekend, which sounds like fun. Or it would if my lung capacity didn't compare to an asthmatic bulldog with a runny nose.

Really not much going on right now. The diet is going pretty well. One thing I did this week, is set my trip odometer before driving home from work the other day. I took the back way home, which is a little longer than my usual trip (I think), and it came out to about 29 miles. Doesn't really sound like a long trip, except I was looking at it in terms of the marathon. 26.2 miles from the entrance of the parking lot at work leaves me 3 blocks past my son's school in Guthrie. About 30 minutes driving. Holy Shit. A little sobering. I guess it makes completing it all the more impressive. But seriously, though. Holy Shit.

Monday, May 08, 2006

ESPN

By the way, I just watched an incredible little piece on Sportscenter about a kid from an orphanage in Cherynobl, who was adopted and brought to the US. The kid had no legs, but still overcame ridicule from other kids because of his "handicap" and language issues to win a Bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in some kind of Paralympic ice hockey. After thinking about all of the things this kid has had to go through, I feel kind of crappy for bitchin about the issues I have. Great story.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

The Biscuit

Leave it to a fat guy to write about food, huh? Actually, I'm not talking about bread of the buttermilk variety, I'm talking about a horse. I've only run 3 races in my life, but part of my night before a race ritual involves watching the movie Seabiscuit. If you are not familiar with the story, I highly suggest reading the book before watching the movie. Both are really good, though. I usually end up re-reading the book each year about this same time. I've never been much of a horse racing guy, but every year I make it a point to watch all 3 Triple Crown races, and that in turn makes me want to read about horse racing. Both reading and watching racing really hypes me up to run. Besides the Seabiscuit book, I also have a good book about Secretariat. This was my first year making a wager on a race, and being a little unsure, I put $2 each on 3 horses, 2 to win and one to place. I had Barbaro as one of my win horses, so I made $14.20 on that $2 bet. $8.20 profit. Not quite ready to quit my day job yet.

The Seabiscuit story is one of those stories that would sound unbelievable if it wasn't true. The horse was unbelievably fast, but it wasn't just speed that made him so special. It was heart. One of the things he loved to do is toy with a horse, whether in a race or just in training. He would let a horse run beside him for a stretch before abusing them at the finish. When racing a horse with just as much talent as he had, if not more, like War Admiral, the jockeys made a point of letting the other horse catch Biscuit so he could see them while running side by side. When it came down to a battle of heart, they knew he wouldn't be beaten. He wasn't superhuman (superequestrian?) like a Secretariat, though. He was, by all accounts, a small, knock-kneed horse, that didn't really excite people just by his looks. He probably looked even worse to other horses, who got to see his tail more than his nose.

The whole point of this isn't a commercial for either the book or the movie. The point is that I can relate a little more to Seabiscuit than I do to Secretariat. I know it sounds funny to compare myself to a horse, and I'm sure that it is a real stretch to find any similarities. But I've always felt like I was all about heart. I've played sports in one form or another since I was probably 5. I've never been the biggest, or the strongest, or the fastest, but I've always been able to complete. I feel the reason for that is the fact that I am willing to work harder or at least as hard as anyone else. I wasn't a natural at hitting a baseball, so I had to take extra batting practice. I wasn't the fastest outfielder, so I had to take tons of fly balls until I could get a better jump to make up for the lack of speed.

Don't take this as bragging. Trust me, if I had my way, I would have preferred to be one of those guys with natural ability. It would have been nice to be out with a pretty girl instead of looking at Coach Reed's ugly mug on the other side of a pitching machine. Here is the problem, though. I don't know if I still have the heart to do it. Am I willing to put myself through the pain and sacrifice the marathon calls for? Can I give up the unhealthy practices that got me to this point in my life? I don't know. I would like to think so, but I'm starting to worry that I may be turning into Al Bundy telling the story about scoring 4 touchdowns in a high school football game.

I've lived my athletic life based on one main tenet. I've always said that if I am competeting against someone with equal physical abilities, they will quit before I do. That's my MO, that is how I win. I don't know how much that applies here, though, because I am not competing against any one person or a team. It is just me against myself until race day. I guess it will still just be me against myself on race day also. I just hope I don't make myself quit before then...

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Baseball Tonight

248 today. That is weighing a couple of minutes ago after getting home late. One pound to go, so don't expect to see any swimsuit pictures here tomorrow perverts. No exercise today, unless you count wrangling 7 kids tonight at baseball practice. Mondays and Thursdays just aren't going to be very good for working out unless I start that whole working out at lunch thing. I'm going to need to sign back up at the gym if I want to do that. The whole shower after working out or work all afternoon with terrible BO dilemma. OK, so its not that much of a dilemma, but I still hate to spend the money. That is $20/year that could have gone to buy chocolate covered chocolate chip cookies. Stupid diet.

Not much going on today. I'm feeling pretty tired, and I think alot of it has to do with the new job. It is so much easier when you are busy, but you can get the work done and feel some accomplishment. When managing, though, you are not so busy at times, but when all of your people are and you can really do nothing to help, it really starts to drain you after awhile. I think some exercise would probably give me more energy. We will see tomorrow, because I am definitely going for a walk at some time.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

The Truth Will Set You Free

So yesterday, I was bragging about the battle Chad and I were having with our sweet tooth (teeth?), and how we had come out on top. I stopped by his desk this morning to let him know that I talked about it here on the blog, and his phone starts vibrating while we are talking. He kind of glanced at it and got a weird look on his face while chuckling to himself a little. I didn't think much about it, but apparently his conscience got the better of him. So he shows me the text message he just got from his wife. It went a little something like this: "Where the hell are all the damn cookies I bought yesterday?" Turns out Chips Ahoy or some other fat peddler makes a chocolate chip cookie where the back is covered in chocolate and then more chocolate is drizzled across the top. That really isn't fair. Chocolate covered chocolate chip cookies are like crack to a fat dude. Chad's wife had opened the package and eaten approximately 2 cookies. Apparently, that is something skinny people can do. Or so I've heard. Then, while she is at school, Chad and his 2 year old son decide to dip their hands in the cookie jar. (Actually, they were eating them straight from the package, but work with me). I'm not sure if it was 10 minutes or two hours later, but eventually, an empty cookie package ended up in the trash. Now I know that a two year old can't eat more than 2 or 3 cookies.

Pascal had Chad bring the cookie package back from lunch so we could do a little CSI work on the damage. Turns out, approximately 16 cookies were consumed to the tune of 1700 calories, more than half from fat. I believe the carb intake was in the 200-300 range. On the plus side, though, each cookie had one gram of protein. So that's good.

Now here's the thing. I'm not writing this to try and embarrass Chad. The truth is, I've been there. After laughing about it, a person starts to think about the tightrope some of us walk on a daily basis. (Insert your own fat guy/tightrope joke here). Food addiction is different than other types of addiction. If you have a smoking addiction, people try and get you to quit. You wear patches and get help, with the goal of not smoking at all. But what if instead of having a goal of not smoking at all, what if you had to smoke, but could only smoke a certain number of cigarettes a day? Basically, we are going to give you an addictive substance (and don't kid yourself, food is very addictive), that you have to consume numerous times a day, but if you over-consume, you will slowly kill yourself and look terrible in a pair of slacks doing it. It's tough. Food is comforting, food is fun, food kills time when you are bored, it picks you up when you are sad, it's non-judgemental, and it's always there when you want it. But is also the enemy. At times it consumes you. It fills up your thoughts and then it punishes you.

So what to do? It's obvious that I don't know. It's very easy to tell others how to handle their addictions, but when you are trying to fight that internal battle yourself, it's a different beast. The only way I know to fight it is to remove the temptation. And if I lived alone that might be an option. But there are 4 people in the house, and this fight is mine alone. I have a skinny family, and should they be punished just because I can't say no to Funyons at 11:30 at night? Probably not. So Chad, I feel your pain (and not just because our belts are too tight). If you figure out a way around this, patent it quick, because you would be a very rich man....

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

We Own the Night

Have I mentioned before how much I love working out after dark? I'm sure I have, but it bears repeating. I decided to run/walk hills tonight, because going uphill always makes my knees feel better. Of course, it hurts to go back downhill, but quit yer bitchin. It was beautiful when I got outside tonight at about 9:15. Nice and cool with almost no breeze. I think I have already described the hills I do, but basically it is just up one side and down the other, back and forth. Rocket science I know, but you really need to spell things out for some people. Daylen. Anyhoo, at the bottom of the hill on the west side, I stood there for about 10 minutes, surrounded by the smell of honeysuckle and watching a very cool lightning storm. It was one of those moments that is hard to describe, but well worth the price of admission.

The diet is going very well. Granted, I'm hungrier than Paris Hilton after an all-nighter, but I'm thinking that is a good thing. Maybe not the Paris part, but you know what I mean. Like two pregnant women passing each other in the freezer section of the grocery store, Chad was definitely feeling the same sugar cravings I was today. But since we are both really trying to stick with our diets this month, we fought off the urge with handfuls of pretzels. I either need to find something healthy to replace the junk food with, or hopefully the cravings will diminish with time. We'll see.

I weighed myself before walking tonight, and I was at 248. So I have one more pound to go before Friday. Once I make that, I may need to set another goal to keep things moving in the right direction. I also need to get with the technology and start posting more pictures. By the way, the way things are looking, the marathon plans may have changed. It is starting to look like the Hamby's are reversing roles. Me and Shell doing the marathon, and Kary and Aaron doing the half. Just a thought....