Pounding Away

"Sun come up, sun go down
Hear the feet see the sweat on the ground
Watch your step, keep your cool
Though you can't see what's in front of you"
- "The Runner", Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Weight: 156

Sometimes I have to decide what to blog about. I have multiple ideas running through my head and I have to filter what is 'blog-worthy' and what isn't. I know... this might be a shock to read, considering how I can ramble on about nothing. But really, those are the highly edited and shrunken versions of what I was thinking of typing.

This... is not one of those weeks. Not much happened, things are pretty status quo. I wasn't really 'inspired' this week, at least not by anything that stuck.

But I did have my physical last week - if you are reading this thinking about running or getting in shape or whatever, please, see your doctor first. Not only do you want to make sure you are physically 'ready' and 'capable' to tackle whatever challenges you have before you, but it's also a REALLY good way to see the positive effects of all your work later on.

That said, my last physical was over 2 years ago. It was one of the little factors that got me off my butt, off the couch, and on my feet. My cholesterol was right at the cusp of 'high'. It wasn't really 'bad', because my good cholestorol numbers were good... but still, I was in my early to mid 30's, and not ready to hear that anything was at the cusp.

So since my last physical, I have run 4 marathons. I have dipped my toe in the kiddie pool of triathons. I have become more careful about my diet and keep my binge eating to occasional nights instead of frequent weeks. I have lost over 15 pounds. It would be only natural to see my 'new numbers'... right?

Except I totally forgot to ask! I think i got caught up in other things... and it just slipped my mind.

For one, as previously written, I was curious about this whole Vitamin D deficiency thing. It kind of consumed me. I wanted to find out about that from the doctor, and everything else was secondary. Unfortunately, that was anti-climatic as the doctor basically said "it's winter in Buffalo... this is what happens". I've got 9 more weeks of Vitamin D 'overload', followed by daily supplements, and we'll look at it again next year.

I will say my runs for the last couple weeks have been better than average, or at least better than recent history. Maybe not faster than usual (I generally don't pay attention to time/pace when just training), but I've just felt better. Is the Vitamin D part of the reason? I really don't know. A lot has changed all at once. I'm getting a lot more sleep with my new work schedule. I'm running earlier in the day. The weather is getting nicer. My feet/legs are still acclimating to the Newton Running Shoes (for distancecs over 6 miles). I'll knock on wood... things are going good.

But I digress - another distraction at my physical was that I had to take my 5 year old daughter with me. This made the whole experience interesting and fun... for the staff at the doctor's office too I'm guessing.

To tell the whole story and all the little jokes and funny things that happened would make my fingers more sore than a whore on dollar night. So I am just going to bullet point it:

- while being weighed, my daughter announced "Wow Dad! You weigh a lot!" I replied "Not really, my shirt weighs 12 pounds". Not sure which of us the nurse laughed louder at.
- My daughter could play with a Sphygmomonemeter (Blood pressure cuff) for hours. And my blood pressure is officially not in the 300 range.
- 5 year old girls will ALWAYS have to go to the bathroom when they are in a new building, it's unavoidable.
- My doctor asked my daughter how old she was, and she sullenly replied "I'm still only 5... but (perking up) when I'm six I get to go to Disneyworld!" This made the doctor, the nurse, and two med students all laugh out loud
- I taught the nurse how to cure hiccups... suck it nursing school! (plug your ears and take 5 gulps of water. It works, I swear)

5 weeks until the Half Marathon. I haven't been swimming or biking much, but will step up those workouts right after.