Salty Upper Lip: Prepping for 5K

We've been graced by stupendous spring-into-summer-like weather this weekend and EVERYBODY'S heading outdoors! Today I began in earnest to prepare for the Binghamton Bridge Run, my only 5K of the year...good timing since I am still taking the anti-coagulant and am staying off the bike.

So I focus on jogging...or fast-walking...lol!

One voice told myself before heading out to our Vestal Rail - Trail to jog 4 miles: first of the season, take it easy, it's okay if you need to walk some of it.

The other voice? "Heh: no WAY are you gonna walk!" ;-)

And nope, I didn't...my time for 4 miles wasn't TOO bad, 50 mins. or 12.5 min. mile. Considering my best 5K time over the past few years has only been an 11 min. mile I thought I did pretty good for my first crack at it today. My tunes were as helpful as ever...Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark had a spot-on pace for my jog. Got my salty upper lip, just like I do when I have a hard ride on my bike!

I waved at a couple of cyclists from the bike club as they rode by...longing to join them, but being oh-so-patient with the process!

Yesterday I met with the fellow at the Arrhythmia Center who ran the test on my pacemaker and determined that everything was looking good. I'll be getting my own box for doing the same in a few weeks. I was very precise in my questioning of him: So the readings today indicate that my heart is doing what it should, not dropping beats, no blood pooling in the atrium any longer? Correct, he said. And this is wired directly to my cardiologist, right? Correct.

Well even though I don't meet with the cardiologist until May 19th, I'm going to start e-mailing her next week about discontinuing my anti-coagulant and see if I can get started BEFORE May 19th...!

The box is a very non-intrusive process and unlike my earlier explanation of this occurring every night in my sleep I can run the test any time and it's only necessary to run once every few months. Easy peasy!

The pounds are holding steady these days...some zig-zagging but lately holding around 216.5. I'm enjoying downsizing my clothes...even though the pounds aren't dropping I feel like the inches are. Have to get cozy with the tape measure sometime. I'm actually getting a teensy sense of scrawniness around my shoulders and upper chest and eager to get back to my upper body strength training, but am still restricted: no heavy lifting, pushing, etc. This should be discontinued also when I meet with my cardiologist on May 19th.

Sometimes I get a little frustrated over the plateau, but mostly I'm "okay" with it...realizing that a "pause for the cause" ain't such a bad idea! This isn't a race, it's all about building a lifestyle that can weather the test of time. I also tell myself that numbers are one thing, but what works when it comes to living my life is another.

The "hungries" have reared their head now & then...and although I've overindulged in the quantity of food, I've stood firm in maintaining my zero-sugar, zero-grain, no-food from 9 pm until noon approach...occasionally creeping up to 10 pm. Avoiding sugar and grains has worked well for me and I think I will be able to stand by this approach, with some thoughts of adding oatmeal when cycling comes along...but keeping my oats "clean" with no sugar or butter, just lots of cinnamon and banana to sweeten it.

So all in all, I've been keepin' on, keepin' on!

Hope everyone is savoring weather that's just as tasty as ours has been this weekend! :-)

Don

PS: Update! Down 2 pounds all of a sudden today! 14 pounds from GOAL! More proof that if you work your SPARK the pay-offs will come! :-)