Goal weight: 195 lbs.
This morning’s weight: 200 lbs.
A few random thoughts about exercise and my recent run:
I didn’t run this morning. No, I ran last night. Why? Simple, so I could sleep a few extra minutes. And besides, I spent the weekend drawing (over 20 hours) — I needed to stretch my legs. Badly. So run I did.
It’s pretty unusual for me to run at night. Why? Well, first of all, I’m a “morning run” kind of guy. I like the cool temperatures and the lack of traffic. I got neither last night. The humidity was like running through syrup. And even more irksome, there were a lot of cars out. With it being dark, I felt at risk. (I should have brought my headlight). I altered my route to take me off the main roads. So at the end of the modified-route sweatiest, I ran 5.10 miles at a 5.6 mph pace. Not particularly fast, but considering the hills and the humidity, I’ll take it. I burned over 800 calories. I also figured out that last month I burned over 15,000 calories running. (My Garmin GPS watch calculates your calorie burn). I’ll take that. But back to the subject at hand: While running at night was convenient (I do like to sleep in), I think I’ll stick to my morning runs. And I think I’m still sweating.
I quit caffeine four days ago for medical reasons. I’m just now getting past the headaches and other symptoms. Right now (with it being 5:30 a.m.) I could use a big cup of tea to wake me up. Oh well, that ain’t happening. But I can say that the lack of tea and the medicine have improved my esophagus. No blood. The symptoms have been fixed. Now to start working on the cause.
My shoes have right at 300 miles on their odometer. Recommendations are to get at new pair at around 300 to 500 miles. No, this isn’t to enrich the shoe manufactures. When you run, you break down the cushioning the protects your knees, joints, bones etc. I run in Brooks Beasts. They’re a $130 heavy-duty shoe stabilizing shoe designed for heavier people and overpronators. I’m both (heavy by runner standards). I’ve worn them for over 15 years. But I can never get more than 300 miles out of them. Usually I start having some knee aches when its time to get new ones. It’s about time to save up and buy a new pair. As the old saying goes, “good shoes are cheaper than knee surgery.” I recommend a full-service running store to get your shoes. This is one time when it makes sense to pay for great service. Your knees (and wallet) will thank you in the long run.
Long run. I almost made a joke. But it’s too early to make a joke. So let me say, “Have a nice Monday.” The road is out there ahead of us. Let’s conquer it.