Running Update

This week was a pretty good week for running and exercise. I woke up at 6:15 am on Monday morning and ran 4 miles before work. After work, I went to the gym and did some circuit training with the weights. I am a member of 24 Hour Fitness, and they have a circuit training area that includes machines for abs, seated squat, seated leg curls for hamstrings, leg press for quadriceps, bench press, shoulder press, tricep press, seated row, and bicep curl. I haven't worked out with the weights in a while so my muscles were sore all week long.

On Tuesday, I ran 4 miles and then offset all the exercise with a wine tasting and dinner at Fleming's. Wednesday I hosted dinner and a movie night with some friends and grilled Prime filets that I got from Central Market. I have never bought Prime beef from the grocery store before, but it was amazing. The cut of meat really makes a huge difference!! We watched Love Actually on DVD which the girls suggested (I wanted to see Wedding Crashers), and it was pretty good. I had very low expectations for this chick flick.

Friday I ran 4 miles on the dreadmill and Saturday I did 8 miles at Town Lake although I only ran 6 of them. After that I got some new shoes from a friend that works at RunTex. I changed from the Asics GT-2100 to the Brooks Trance 5. I wanted the Asics Kayano, but they didn't have my size. Today I went to the gym to work out and then ran 3 miles on the indoor track (my friend said that if I run on the treadmill or indoor track and don't like the shoes, I could bring them back for a full refund) to take the new shoes for a test drive. The shoes don't feel nearly as "cushiony" as the Asics and seemed really long and flat. I didn't have any discomfort, but I like the Asics much better. I think it's just that I am used to the Asics, so I think I am going to find some Kayonos in my size or just go back to a new pair of GT-2100s.

So, that gives me 21 miles for the week. I haven't broken the 20 mile mark since before the Freescale half-marathon. Additionally, I have added incentive. I am weighing in at around 204 lbs, and haven't been sub-200 lbs in probably a decade. So, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel to reach this milestone. For the past 2 weeks I have been on the Abs Diet which a friend recommended and lent me the book. It is really a common sense approach to eating healthy, eating 6 small meals a day, and exercising. The theory is to increase metabolism through eating the right foods and building muscle mass.

I haven't really lost any weight in the past two weeks since I have been on it, but I feel great. I haven't eaten any fast food in 2 weeks (with the exception of a late night Whataburger last weekend after Richard and Lauren's wedding shower party at 3:30 in the morning). Also, I usually have 2 diet colas at work a day. For the past 2 weeks, I have only had 1 choosing to drink only water, green tea, or milk. I went to Whole Foods 2 weeks ago and loaded up on healthy foods and snacks, it was expensive at $143. But, since I have been eating in and the groceries have lasted over 2 weeks, it is probably cheaper than my normal diet of eating out every night.