Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit Blog: Deep thoughts and sweat

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

Today’s Weight: 195 lbs.

I did it.  I finally hit the 195-pound goal.  But I’ll have to add an asterisk on it — almost like Barry Bond’s home run record.  Why?  I weighed myself after I ran 10 miles today.  And I probably sweated off seven pounds.  How much did I sweat you ask? I had to wring out my socks twice. It was that hot. And it was that muggy.  Let’s just say August lived up to its reputation.

The sunrise was glorious. I caught the giant red orb right as it was about to head into a bank of clouds. My little iPhone camera couldn’t quite do the sun’s beauty justice.  I took a nice photo of it when I got to the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Then I kept running.

I planned a route that would take my to a water fountain at the halfway point. I ran through the Reservoir Park in Ridgeland and then by the Cock of the Walk. I then ran out onto a jetty near Phillip’s Restaurant.  The sun had come up a bit more and I got a nice photo of the sun and some docks.  That’s when I noticed one of the truths of life.  As I ran, I noticed the sun’s reflection on the water followed me.  And then I realized if another runner had been a two hundred yards ahead of me, that same reflection would be following him at the same time I thought it was following me. Reality is how we interpret what we “see.”   Our brains translate the facts at hand. Hills are hills. Heat is heat. If you think things are bad, they’re bad.

Yes, my mind dives into crazy deep thoughts when I run.

Of course, I ran the way I ran expecting to find that water fountain I mentioned at the halfway point. But when I got there, it was gone.  I had drank most of my water and had another five miles left in the run.  Thankfully, I found a water source at mile seven.  I needed it.

Ten miles of sweat and thinking. Now it’s time to get to work.