Weekly Weigh In

So we basically gorged ourselves on Saturday night at a restaurant called Taverna Plaka. It's a small greek family-style restaurant. There were 8 of us but we sounded like 20. The food was great and our Phriend Phillip had to stand on the table and do a shot of Ouzo to celebrate his birthday while the wait-staff threw napkins at him. Needless to say, we ate and ate and ate. I really wanted to get in a morning run on Sunday, but 3 hours sleep wasn't cutting it.

In rehab yesterday, I managed to lose another lb on their scale (202). That's 11 so far. On the home scale, I stayed at a flat 200. But this morning (and I don't usually weigh myself more than once a week at home) I was 198.5. Moving ever closer to my ideal weight.

Rain in Hillanta

In spite of the fact that I've lost 10 lbs and resolved to not eat a lot of bad food while I'm here, I find it necessary to get in a few extra runs to take care of the few extra calories I've taken on since arriving in Atlanta. Rachel and I went out this morning. A light mist saturated a 54 degree air temp as we stepped out the door. Perfect for me. Not so much for Rachel. We ran the same course as yesterday and the hills challenged me more today...no salsa in sight. We went just under 5 miles in just over 10 minute miles.

Now, as I sit here during nap time, the sun is out and the temp jumped to 60 something. I think about the possibility of a two-a-day...and getting in another quick run. Too bad I ate lunch just an hour ago. I won't suffer that lesson more than once on this trip. I'll wait for the morning, assuming I can get up after tonight's festivities.

HillAnta

Forget Hotlanta or Phatlanta. Our friends and some of our family live in Hillanta...at least from the perspective of a runner. I lived in Atlanta for 4 years and really learned to run well there. But it's been a long time since I tackled the hills of Dunwoody and never while under the 165 bpm heart limit. I went for a run this afternoon with by Brother In Law, Steven.

I've known Steven since the 5th grade. And, if you're paying attention, you'll realize that I must have also known Rachel that long since she's his sister. In spite of that, she married me anyway.

Steven and I have always competed with each other. Video games, running, various sports....even resting heart rates. In fact, while in the ED during my heart attack, my resting heart rate got down to 46 bpm. I took a picture of the monitor reading and emailed it to him. I figure I pretty much have that competition wrapped up. Now we compete over running accomplishments, cholesterol levels and who has more hair. (I think I still win those 3, though he is training for his first marathon now.)

Anyway, he and I set out for a run and I worried that I would slow him down. A limited heart rate does not mix well with hills. However, the only thing that actually slowed me down was the spicy salsa we had at lunch about 2 1/2 hours before. The more I ran, the more my stomach hurt. My heart rate never had a chance to max out. In the end, we ran 5.6 in just 10:00 min averages. Mental note...allow more time between running and eating Moe's for lunch.

Treadmill goals

The treadmill is boring. But for the past 10 weeks, it has been my guide rope to get back to my normal life. Once I started running on the treadmill, I set a goal for myself to run farther each time in the allotted 17 minutes. Today, I broke two records. Today, I ran an 8:02 first mile. I also ran 2.01 miles in 17 minutes. With only 6 visits left, I did about the best I can do without getting my heart rate up too high. In short, I hit my goals.

Weekly weight up date

I weighed in at home this morning. 200. My rehab weigh in was 203. So I lost a lb on the rehab scale and stayed the same on the home scale. To make it more confusing, I've lost 10 lbs on the rehab scale and only 8 on the home scale. WTF?

This one is not about me!

I want to extend a pat on the back to Derek. I mentioned him early on in this series of events only strung together by a single cardiac event. Derek's illness already had its grips on him for about a year when I met him in rehab. He's 43 and a former runner. He had a pace maker put in and started rehab just a few weeks before me. After a lot of hard work, Derek ran today for the first time since he got sick. He looked happy on the treadmill. I wanted to give him a shout out on this medium and a pat on the back for his accomplishment. Way to go Derek. I'm always rooting for you.

Going Solo

Today, I had a much anticipated return to solo running. I went out this morning at banged out 6 miles in just under an hour. My heart rate peaked at 172 while ascending the hill on Broad leading to Target and again when running up Morningside drive. Those hills have always posed challenges at one point or another but I never had to pay such close attention before. Tomorrow is my weekly home weigh in. Though I didn't make the best food choices on Friday or on Saturday night, I hope to be below 200 lbs.