Maturing Like a Fine Wine

Sunday, February 20

Good morning.

Hi folks, I'm still out here kickin. Training is going well, especially biking. I need to begin stepping up my swimming a bit.
Running has gone ok but has been a tiny struggle. I've been dealing with a niggle since last summer. Many time niggles work their way and then leave your body. This one does not want to leave.
The area in question is my right hip/groin. Interestingly, I recently read Dave O's blog and saw he was having hip issues as well. His symptoms almost sounded like mine.
So, I sent Dave a private message and he helped me find a good Orthopedic doctor. So, thanks Dave.
Two weeks ago I saw the same doctor as Dave and I will be having my cortisone injection tomorrow.
I've had xrays and an MRI recently showing slight arthritis and a couple bone spurs. Hopefully the cortisone will take down inflammation and allow some healing.
I've also been getting ART and Graston for this issue.
These treatments seem to help. But, the discomfort seems to show up late during a run. For example, yesterday I ran 14 and the pain/discomfort kicked in around mile 10. The last 4 miles were ok but were run more carefully.
I've noticed that because of ART and Graston I may be recovering more quickly from this issue. For example, I will try to run a Boston hill program this morning on my treadmill because I have no lingering pain from yesterday. So, we will see.
This morning I will finalize my flight plans for Boston. I checked out American Airlines yesterday and they actually had some decent rates of $285 per person round trip. That's not bad.
The triathlon training is going great. My biking will be kick ass. Vision Quest training has been a love hate type thing. The weekly classes are so tough and hard but you love them at the end.
I am now down 13 pounds since January 1, 161 pounds..
The transformation from P90X is startling. I am really getting cut. I am burning fat cells that have been around since high school. It's kind of fun to see how the muscles under all that fat look. Don't worry I am eating plenty with almost nightly ice cream.
Hopefully, after the cortisone I'll be able to comfortably get to 16 or 18 miles next weekend. My legs feel great and from the bike training they are never as tired from running as they used to be.
This morning I signed up to be a possible bone marrow donor.



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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin

I'm a Big Loser

Training is going well. Swimming, biking, running, ellipting, yogaing, P90Xing etc. has been fun.

As the holidays came to an end, even though I was burning at least 1000 calories per day from exercise my weight had crept up to 174 pounds. I just did not understand why.

So, with the beginning of the new year I decided to really start counting calories again and consuming 2000-2300 calories per day. This was also while maintaining my daily caloric burn from exercise of 1000 +. I also cut out "chips" of any kind. I focused on the good clean stuff. More fruits, more water.

This lifestyle change took off 9 pounds for January and I'm back to my lowest adult weight level of 165 pounds. I will continue this lifestyle indefinitely. I would like to first reach 160 pounds and see how things look there. If I feel I can afford more "fat" loss I'll shoot for 155 pounds. I will not go any lower than that.

Once I reach my final weight loss destination I will up the daily caloric needs to match my bodily needs and exercise burn. I will maintain that level.

I have not lost muscle in this journey. I am doing various strength training and consuming protein, etc. Things are looking great.
This is a weight loss journey that started several years ago at 225 pounds. The journey and refinement continues.


Edited by Silentrunner 2/1/2011 9:04 AM

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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais