Week 188 Update

It was 05:37, dark, and 40º when I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, "184.0 pounds!"

Last Saturday I weighed in at 183.0 pounds. That is at the low end of my range. I had pager coverage that day and I had a couple of calls early. The first was no big deal. I had to talk a customer through getting his communications going between our machine and their host system. The second was a parts shipment. Normally, people ship from our depot in Kentucky. Unfortunately, this one was in a hurry and he didn't want to wait a couple of extra hours. So, Dotti and I headed over to the office. I dropped her off at Burlington Coat Factory, and then shipped the part, which took over an hour. She found a few items to buy, and then we went to Denny's for lunch/dinner. It was late enough in the day where I wasn't going to eat again later, and I was down on the scale, so I ate a few extra points. By the end of the day I had consumed 72.5 points. I didn't do any walking that day, because I needed a rest.

Sunday I weighed 183.5 pounds. I had awakened earlier, about 03:30, and the weather outside was calling to me, and I was tempted to go out and start walking right then. But I waited until 06:30 instead. The wind was blowing with sustained winds at 26 mph, and gusting much higher. The temperature was in the high 40s, and the ground was dry. The wind was blowing from the east, and on the long stretch along the main road, the wind was in my face. That sort of weather makes you feel really alive when you are walking in it. I did the 3.05 miles in 46:31.

Later on, Dotti and I walked to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. The wind had actually gotten stronger and was sustained at 30 mph, and gusting to 50 mph. The temperature was still in the upper 40s. It took us 37:01 to complete the 1.82 miles to lunch. I had a hearty lunch of 21.0 points, and then we walked back the same distance in 38:55. The wind was really in our faces on the way back.

I took a third walk that evening around our 3.05 mile loop. It took me 42:45 to complete. The wind was still blowing pretty well, but it was not quite as strong as it was earlier. This final walk pushed me over the 1100-mile mark for the year! I was only 97.8 miles from my goal when I finished.

Monday the 13th (I will take a Friday the 13th instead anyday!) I got up early, and at 05:00 I weighed in at 184.0 pounds. I immediately went outside and walked 3.05 miles in 47:13. The temperature was 46º for my walk. I then drove to work, and at lunch I walked 3.17 miles in 44:55.

In the evening when I got home it was 42º and pouring very heavily. I put on my rain gear and my flashing light, and I headed out into the darkness, with flashlight in hand. The rain was beating off my protective clothing, and it visibly streaked through the flashlight beam. The gutters along my route were running full with water, and by the end of my walk my shoes were soaked. However, the rest of my body remained quite dry, and the walk was a blast. I love walking in that sort of weather. I completed the 3.05 miles walk 50:33. My total miles for the year were up to 1111.5.

I only ate 36.5 points for the day.

Tuesday I weighed 185.0 pounds. It was a warm 50º when I arrived early for work, and I had time to complete a 4.17-mile walk. It took me 59 minutes and 44 seconds. At lunch it was still in the low 50s and I did 3.17 miles in 49:57. Dotti had a gotten together with a few of her family members to have a memorial service for their mom at the assisted care living center where she had last lived. There mom had many friends there who were not able to make it to the funeral, so they wanted to have this service. Afterwards, in the evening, Dotti was visiting with her family, and had dinner with them, and so I decided to do my evening walk before leaving work. I did another 3.17 miles in 51:32. That brought my total miles to 1122.0.

I ate 41.0 points for the day.

Wednesday I weighed 183.0 pounds. I got to work early enough to do 2.9 miles in the morning. The temperature had dropped to 41º that morning and it had me moving a little faster, completing the loop in 38:45. At lunch, the temperature had only gone up 2º, and I did the 3.17-mile loop in 44:25. In the evening at home, it was 44º, and I did the 3.05-mile loop in 44:57. My total miles were up to 1131.2.

I ate 41.5 points on Wednesday.

Thursday I weighed 183.0 pounds. On the drive in, my car thermometer was moving up and down just above the freezing mark. It stopped right at 33º when I got to work. I was early enough to walk the 3.17-mile loop, and I was well bundled up as I completed the walk in 41:49. By lunch it had warmed up nearly to 50º, and I walked the 3.17-mile loop once more, this time taking 44:37.

By the time I got home from work, I was not feeling up to walking again, so I took a rest. I ate 43.0 points for the day.

Friday morning I got on the road early, and because it was Friday, the road was fairly clear. I got to work very early. As a result I walked the 3.17-mile loop in the 45º morning air, and then continued on to do my 2-mile out and back (using my GPS, it came to 2.02 miles) across the park. I finished the 5.19 walk in 1 hour 9 minutes and 36 seconds.

At lunch it was 49º, and I did the 3.17-mile loop once more, this time in 47:46.

This brought my total miles for the year up to 1145.9, and left me less than 9 miles away from where I would have been if I had remained on track all year long for reaching 1200 miles! I have now averaged 3.26 miles per day for the entire year for 2004. I need to bring that average up to 3.28 in order to actually reach 1200 miles. In order to do that I need to average 3.87 miles per day for the remaining 14 days left in this year. I need to get 25 and a quarter miles in for each of the remaining 2 weeks. I am close enough to where I can really slow down a lot and still make it. I have been feeling pretty tired lately, so I may take it a little easier from here on in. I have moved to within striking distance (less than the number of 2 marathons) of 1200 miles.

This week I really taxed my muscles and cardiovascular system. I earned 145.42 aerobic points. My normal goal, for basic cardio fitness, is to reach 30 aerobic points. I earned 4.9 times as many aerobic points as my basic goal for the week. The most I had earned for any other week this year was 115.22 in mid October. I also walked 53.34 miles this week. The most I had walked during any previous week was 45.99 miles. It is not surprising that I am feeling tired, and that I have a blister and callous on the back of my right heal. If I walked as many miles next week as I walked this week, I would be within one mile of 1200 miles. However, I have 2 weeks to work with, and so I do not think I will try to reach my goal this week.

With all that has been going on around us, I have not been eating as well as I should be for all the exercise I have been getting. So, I must improve food intake as well as slowing down my exercise level. (I don't need to continue this torrid pace. I am close enough to slow down quite a bit. I can't stop, but I can downshift.)

Another bad thing about this past week is that I have not been getting as much sleep as I should have. I was so anxious to get up and get to walking, that I couldn't sleep my normal number of hours. After driving home, walking and then eating my dinner, I was staying up later to get things done before bed. I think it is time to fix all of that, and take a safe and sane approach to the last 54.1 miles, during the last 2 weeks of the year.

On Friday I ate 65.5 points, and that brought me to my weigh-in weight of 184.0 pounds.

3 years, 221 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/184.0/180±2/BMI:23.00/WK-188
GRAPHS: Weight Loss/Year 1 Maint./Year 2 Maint./Year 3 Maint./Miles Walked
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