Day 9: Cruising Along, 5lbs Down

If I said it was freakin' GORGEOUS outside again, would you hold it against me?

No? Good. Because it was freakin' GORGEOUS outside again. AGAIN!

I again slept the sleep of the dead last night. I don't know what it is—I haven't been missing a lot of sleep or anything, but I ended up getting an 11-hour binge in last night. It might be a result of some of the meds I'm taking for my walnut-sized medical issue—I know one of them has a side-effect of somnolence, which is a fancy way of saying "knocks your ass out". Whatever it is, I'm generally a 7-hour-a-night guy, so this is sorta weird. I mean hey, I like sleep, so I'll take it. But generally it's not easy for me to get a lot of it.

Anyway, due to my binge I started later than I wanted today, but I got my run in down at Crissy Field. Yes, as I said, another gorgeous day. I hope to soon start taking them for granted, like I did in San Diego. Taking a beautiful day for granted is one of my favorite luxuries. Well, having beautiful days to spare is one of my favorite luxuries. In Chicago you'd kill for some of the days you get in San Diego, but in San Diego you get those days 270 times a year. So it's no major sin to read a book on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, because you know next Saturday is going to be just as nice.

The good life. And San Francisco has been damn-near just as nice as San Diego as of late. Maybe just a bit cooler, which is just fine by me.

There was a wicked headwind heading towards Golden Gate Bridge, and while it was refreshing I felt incredibly slow. My split times were actually much faster than I expected—it felt like a 12-minute-mile run, but ended up averaging out to about 10:30 a mile. Slow, sure. And a little slow for me. But not as bad as it felt.

I don't know if it's the sleep binge or the food-fuel from yesterday or maybe the weightlifting, but I felt really heavy and tired out there. I felt solid, but I felt heavy. And I know I'm down 5 pounds so it's not actual weight that made me feel heavier.

If it was the weight training, then good. This is training after all. It's a challenge. It's not pattycake. It's supposed to be difficult and demanding and taxing and hard.

I have felt for a while that my biggest weakness was mental, and the biggest challenge that I am enjoying out of all of this is getting more mentally tough. It's supremely important, and it's not something that happens over night. You gotta pound away on it to become disciplined. And I would like to be a lot more disciplined on all fronts.

Good stuff, kids. Good stuff.

Total Weight: -5lbs

Day 8: Just Liftin'

I tell ya, I'm a whole lot stronger in the gym when I lift *without* running beforehand.

My general routine of 3x5 of bench (185lbs), squat (185lbs), still dips and pull-downs felt really light today. One of those "damn! I shoulda put more weight on!"-type days.

I'll remember that for next week.

Didn't stick exactly to the nutrition plan today because I got 2 different kinds of gluten-free pizza crust mixes to try with @LosBee. She was diagnosed with celiac a couple months ago, which has caused us to rework how we eat. We made 2 pizzas with one of the mixes and, while it didn't look quite right, it tasted pretty good!

She's a beer-and-pizza girl, so celiac has been a royal pain in the keister for her. But I think in time we'll find things she really likes that won't jack up her innards.

That's what it's all about, isn't it?

Anyhoo, I was probably below my 2200 calorie goal, and I don't think I was on track with my 35% protein/50% carbs/15% fat macronutrient breakdown, but what the hell, it's pizza with the wife. And there are some things you just don't pass up.

Total Weight: -3lbs

Day 7: Sunday "Long" Run

My endless repetition of "it was GORGEOUS out!" is getting old, I know. I know.

But damn, dude, it's been really nice out.

I woke up at the right time, I've eaten the right food, I've done the hip exercises, I did the ab workout, and I got my run in. Good stuff.

Lotta folks down at Crissy Field, getting their run in. Did folks pass me? Sure. Sure they did. And I'm cool with that. I have no problem being a back-of-the-pack-er. I'm a Slow Mofo™ after all. I'm just out there, doin' it.

Feeling great.

Tomorrow is strength training, and I'll hit 24 Hour Fitness, but I'm tempted to bust out the Power Yoga DVD, too. That stuff works, man.

Total Weight: -1lb

Day 6: Rest. In Sonoma :)

Today was a rest day. Rest days can be nice. Niiiiice.

It was gorgeous out. AGAIN! I can't believe how nice the weather's been.

There are few pleasures as sweet as taking the short hike up to wine country. It's an hour trip from San Francisco, and when the weather's nice it's truly beautiful to be up there. Jaw-droppingly so.

I strayed from the diet plan—I didn't completely pig out, but I wasn't strict. I just enjoyed myself, within reason. And since I was Designated Driver Guy I didn't pour a billion empty alcohol calories down the hatch.

I just enjoyed myself.

And it was good.

Photo courtesy jimg944 on Flickr.

Day 5: Powersleeper™

For whatever reason, I slept like 11 hours last night. That's really unusually for me, so I guess I needed it.

I woke up late (a luxury of working for yourself) and went about my usual shizzy: eating, swimming, etc. I actually mixed it up quite and re-figured my food intake for the day so I could eat a delicious burger at Chez Maman. Sooo good.

Tomorrow's a day off, which honestly will be nice. Today I felt pretty worked-over. Like the week of running and swimming and lifting and doing hip exercises and ab exercises and waking up early has worn me out a little. It's good.

I'm gonna turn in relatively early tonight and enjoy my day off tomorrow. I reckon me and @LosBee are heading to wine country! Gotta like that.

(Oh and it was gorgeous out AGAIN and looks to be nice tomorrow, too. Awesome.)