Shocking Step on the Scale

At some point earlier in 2013 I weighed in at 228. Eight months later (today) I stepped on the scale and was astounded to see 245! I knew I was going to gain a little weight in the summer because it’s too hot to do much exercise outside, but I was a bit taken aback by 17 extra pounds. So after work today I ventured out for a run the likes of which I don’t normally attempt.

About 75% of the time when I start to jog, my legs feel very sore, heavy, and tight. Today was one of those days and I just decided I would have to deal with it and run through it. A quick search online told me a variety of reasons why my legs feel so tired very early on in a run, and the reason could be over-exertion, poor form, bad shoes, etc.

A mile in, I stopped and stretched in hopes my legs would feel better, and they did, but then my feet started cramping up. Ever since I bought my new Brooks running shoes my feet cramp up every single time I jog. My old crappy Adidas shoes didn’t provide much cushion but I never had foot cramps. Even some gel inserts haven’t helped much. But again, I decided to just man up and run through the pain. Probably not the best ideas, but I was upset with my 17 pound gain.

Normally I would just run through the park with the dog and come back, but since Baxter was with Lauren today I decided to take a new route and just ran aimlessly through residential neighborhoods. MapMyRun calls out every mile and the time and other stats and that kept me motivated to keep going. At some point I lost all sense of direction and wound up back at the park anyway. At 3.1 miles, the distance of a 5K, I was at 32:29. And then I finished it off and made it home in under 45 minutes.

After my run, I weighed in at 241. Is it conceivable that I sweated out 4 pounds of water? If you had seen my clothes, it would not have been inconceivable at all.

My normal exercise routine is trying to jog with the dog 3-4 times per week, usually 2.17 miles through the park and back. That is all good and well, but beagles tend to not run straight through and stop to sniff every fricking blade of grass they encounter. And he must stop and greet every dog to cross our paths and exchange ass sniffs, and also must stop to pee on every sign, tree, hydrant, mailbox, etc., so although the outings are highly fun for the hound, I wonder how beneficial these runs really are to me. In addition, I have absolutely not been paying any attention to calorie intake and lately we’ve done a lot more office lunches, which is what really gets me in trouble. If I can bring a small portion of a leftover or a frozen Healthy Choice meal or something like that it seems to help a lot, as well as in the old pocketbook.

Instead of continuously trying to run in 100+ degree heat, I might consider joining a basketball league in the fall. Turns out karaoke league, although fun, has very few health benefits.