Three-day review

Let's start with a request for music suggestions. I have fairly eclectic music taste, so I'll try just about anything. Just kind of looking for something new, because the workouts really don't vary. The way I'm doing this, the music is the biggest variable.

OK. Skipped the exercise Friday. Had an important birthday party to go to. Which also meant a day of moderate cheating on the food front. Meals were chicken egg and cheese bagel and coffee for breakfast. Chicken with salad for lunch. Actually ate supper twice - turkey bacon and eggs at around 5:30, hamburger and hot dog (no buns) at around 8. And ice cream cake.

Now, in the past, I would have binged on the ice cream cake. Had a sensible slice and topped off the day with a cup of coffee.

Yesterday was back at it. Two-mile workout (ran 1). Had eggs and sausage in the morning, and Atkins bar early afternoon and pork tenderloin, mixed vegetables and a salad for supper.

Weight after exercise was 230. Workout music - started with soundtracks on Pandora and got Gladiator, Robin Hood and a piece from violinist Lindsey Stirling. Then switched to my  iTunes and listened to the Script. (Siri fail -- couldn't find the Script. I had to do it manually).

Today was fun. Went to the Airport Road track in Griffin. It's a 1/2-mile track with a lot of grassy space in the middle. There was a coed ultimate frisbee game going on. Looked like a lot of fun, though I really couldn't decipher what was going on. Is it soccer or football with frisbees? In any case, it also looked like an ankle injury waiting to happen for me. I'll stick to my nice smooth track and straight-line running for now.

Temp was in the 50s. I got pretty cold yesterday, when I ran at dusk and the temp dropped into the mid-40s. Sunshine and 50s wasn't much better today. It was windy. Some of the frisbeers were out there in shorts. Only skin I had exposed was my face.

Got the full three miles in. My three timed laps came in at 12:51 (half-mile splits - 4:10, 4:16, 4:25). Connected to Pandora and chose the Fallout Boy station, which netted me a bunch of bands I didn't know. Legs felt pretty heavy on each of the three run laps.

Back to the music for a moment. If you aren't familiar with Lindsey Stirling, you should check her out. Very talented violinist who mixes her strings with contemporary music styles for some really neat-sounding stuff. Shout-out to my son Tyler for letting me know about LS.

Weight after exercise today was 228. I'm one pound from my low last year.

Intake: Turkey bacon, eggs and coffee for a late breakfast. Bunless burgers, broccoli with cheese and salad for supper:

YTD mileage is 25.

Do not turn your back on time

I was talking to my son Tyler about my workouts on the track the other day, and he asked me what my times were. I told him I don't really time them; it's more important for me to finish. His response: "If you don't know your time, you don't get better."

An interesting though. On some level, I'm doing this because I remember the feeling of being an athlete, and I'd like to get back there. I won't be what I was when I was Tyler's age, but I can be closer to that than I am currently.

So on my run last night I employed the stopwatch function on my phone and came away somewhat encouraged. The total workout was 3 miles (six laps on a 1/2-mile track). Of that, I ran 1.5 miles in .5 mile increments. I timed those three. First one was 4:29. Second was 4:11. Third was 4:26. Showed that to Tyler and he said good job.

Now clearly, I'm not going to be challenging Haile Gebrselassie any time soon. (He's one of the world's best distance runners of recent vintage). Still, a sub-9:00 mile pace isn't too shabby for out-of-shape and 48 years old. I'll take it. It was a small point of encouragement to help me keep going.

At some point I'll time an entire mile and see what that looks like.

Weight after exercise: 231. Food intake yesterday: Coffee, cinnamon roll, cocoa-roasted almonds. Lunch was pulled pork barbecue (no sauce) and cole slaw. Atkins bar and more almonds on top of that. Supper was baked chicken, steamed vegetables and a salad.

Yesterday was a difficult food day because I was on the road for work. The barbecue and slaw were the only carb-friendly items among the lunch offerings at the event I went to.

YTD foot mileage: 20.

Yesterday's soundtrack was Nickelback. Just a rock'n roll kind of day.

Running in the Dark

Wrote the headline hearing Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" in my head. Doesn't seem to translate well to what I have. Oh well.

Skipped Monday because I'd run two days in a row and my legs were saying "break please" and because it was raining. Wimp? Yes.

Back at it last night. Got back to Griffin too late to get it done in the daylight. I guess daylight savings time serves its purpose, but it clearly was not designed with outdoor exercise in mind. At least, not mine. I'd much rather have some sunshine while I'm running. Nonetheless, I soldiered on. Put on my base layer (sounds more manly than tights) and ran with my running gloves and skull cap. Only exposed skin was on my face.  It was 50 degrees out, which really isn't that cold, but before I again cop to being a wimp on this, I'll tell you that my goal here is to sweat. If I'm bare-legged, I sweat less. And if I do sweat, without the cap the sweat runs into my eyes. All part of a plan here. But yes, you're welcome to conclude that I am indeed a wimp.

Total mileage Tuesday was 3 miles, 1.5 of which was done double-time. Legs didn't protest, so I'm thinking I'll keep that routine for another week or two before adding on.

Soundtrack: Started with movie soundtracks on Pandora. Got some Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bourne Identity. Switched to my own music and got Boom by P.O.D., Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe, Beverly Hills by Weezer and Drop Dead Legs by Van Halen.

Mileage YTD: 17.

Weight after exercise: 232. Feels like I'm at a wall, but there is definitely some to be lost here.

Food Tuesday: Ham and eggs with coffee for breakfast. Ham with salad and water for lunch. Sloppy Joe wrap on low-carb flatbread with green beans and carrots for supper.

While we were away ...

I'm back. When I took the break, I had no idea it would take four years to get back on here. Reminds me of a sound bite from Don Sutton when he was first starting out in the radio: "My partner has gone out for coffee. I had no idea he had to go to Orlando to get it." Or something like that.

So here's what you missed: I binged. My job brings me in contact with copious amounts of free food, much of it loaded with carbs. As a consequence, I turned into the Michelin Man. Turns out, that gig doesn't pay. He's a cartoon. Cartoons can't have bank accounts. Or bills.

But I digress. Last March, my wife and I were watching The Biggest Loser and found inspiration. If those folks could lose weight, then we could too. So first thing's first. I stepped on a scale. It screamed obscenities before spitting out a very disturbing number. 267. Twohunnertnsixtyseven pounds. If TBL wasn't motivation enough, that was.

Tammy designed the diet along the lines of Atkins/sugarbusters. Basically, cut the carb intake to less than 20 grams per day. Meats and greens good. Virtually everything else bad. No bread. No pasta. No sweets. No cereal. No non-diet soft drinks. Eggs and turkey bacon in spades.

We have totally changed our eating habits. I missed the bread and pasta something fierce. Spaghetti was a staple at our house. No more.

By October, I'd lost 40 pounds. Stepped on the scale one morning and it said 227. I'd like to get under 210.

Then the holidays hit. I've hovered around 230 since then, and this morning weighed in at 232.

Hit the exercise trail last May, resuming the walking. I've mixed in the running to where I'm doing three miles per outing, running increments that total 1.5 miles. That's what I did yesterday (Soundtrack: Do You Feel Like We Do by Peter Frampton, Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe, Drop Dead Legs by Van Halen, It's Tricky by Run DMC, Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake, Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue, Radioactive by Pentatonix,Turn Up the Radio by Autograph)

I do not miss the weight. More than that, I feel better. Not chugging the antacids all the time because the indigestion just doesn't happen with the foods we're eating.

A note of encouragement: You can do this. It is simply a matter of deciding to do so and sticking to that commitment.

My thought now is to use this as a mileage log in addition to my brain droppings. One stop shopping, as it were.

Weight: 232. Year to date mileage on foot: 14

It felt like exercise just watching

So, no workout today, owing to the fact that I went to Tyler's track meet. It was in Warner Robins, and memorable mainly for the big-man relay. Tried to talk the Griffin coaches into letting me run ;D, and I wondered how they went about preventing teams from stacking the race with someone who isn't, uh, big. It was fun to watch, though, all these offensive linemen cutting loose in a 400-meter relay. I swear I felt the ground shake as they ran past me.

Back in the saddle

I know at least two people noticed that, not to put too fine a point on it, I've fallen off the wagon for the last month or so. Personal accountability, right? All I can say is, it was a disharmonic convergence. I was having pains in my legs I really didn't like. Beyond normal muscle soreness. So that was one thing, and frankly, I probably needed the rest. And then there was life. I just got busy. And a little lazy. Sue me.

Today, however, is a new day. I'm less busy than last week. There's more daylight according to the clock we changed last weekend, and I drew motivation from the fact that, despite me playing the role of slug for the past month, I'd not gained any weight. Unbelievable. On the other hand, the last couple of days I've eaten food -- pizza and Mexican -- that was guaranteed to nudge me further in the wrong direction. It'll take a couple of weeks before I feel comfortable declaring this bud nipped, but today was a good start.

My cereal has changed. I'm on a Grape Nuts kick now, though when I get through this box I'm not sure that will continue. Those things taste like cardboard. I think they are. Lunch today was three soft chicken tacos and some nacho chips and salsa, with Coke. Supper, tuna casserole with a side of corn. Sweet niblets.

Before supper, I hit the track. No mp3 player, so the soundtrack was my wheezing, which was significant because a.) I hadn't run in a month, b.) it was a lot warmer than it was on Feb. 26, the date of my last entry (73 degrees here today) and c.) one of the residents across the road from the park decided today was a good day to burn leaves. So that was tough, but I got through my three miles, ran 1.5 of it and came out none the worse for wear.

It was mind-clearing, this workout, with the exception of a persistent annoyance: People who ignore track etiquette. Slower people, keep right. Short of that, just walk a straight line and refrain from weaving back and forth. You're going to cause a torn ACL if you can't decide where you want to be on the track. OK, enough rant. I feel pretty good after having done the run. And now, it's time to go sleep.

Oh, almost forgot. Weight after exercise: 234. YTD mileage 133.5.

Round and round

Hit the Tyus Park track yesterday for 1.5/1.5, though I did it a little differently. Owing to my still-sore calf muscle, I simply alternated 1/4-mile laps. The leg held up ok. It didn't feel great but it didn't bark in protest, either.

Weight after exercise was 235. Intakes yesterday were chicken biscuit, hash rounds and coffee from Chick-fil-A, Mexican food at a mom-n-pop place in Tifton for lunch and chicken cordon bleu for supper. Yeah, that's a pretty indulgent food day. I promise not to make it a habit. It was kind of a circumstantial thing.

Moving along ... Saw a story earlier today about a group of chicken growers wanting to change the Georgia state bird to the Cornish chicken and dropping the brown thrasher, which they said was a migratory bird. "What has the brown thrasher ever done for Georgia?" they said, with the implication being that the chicken, with its economic impact, was more deserving. I guess there's some logic to that, and I also guess the poultry industry has something to gain from such a switch. Other than that, I'm really not sure what the point is. The only people who care what your state bird is are those playing trivia games. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It just seems a worthless exercise to me.