Weight

Lost a little weight in recent days, 148.2 pounds this morning, before food, fully hydrated, down from low 150s. Scale was battery-less for about year, finally got around to changing it. Probably good, I'd previously been weighing myself almost obsessively everyday, trying to get under 140, which I did for a while but couldn't maintain that, mid/high 140s is my comfort zone. Amazing for me to think that at age 22, at my full height of 6 feet, I was 130, tops. Anyway, not so concerned anymore, as long as I'm under 155 I'm good.

Far from my high water mark of 175 about three years ago before I started running more consistently again. Motivated largely I think by my observation of other Dads walking the kids to school — fat, flabby, feeble — almost no one, no one, is fit, at least in my town. Didn't want any part of that in my future.

Vanity, is that all it is? Partly for sure. It's also the challenge, an experiment, see if I can run as fast as I did 30 years ago (almost there). Something else to occupy my mind and body before the inevitable. Running is a form of giving thanks, to God, existence, whatever — because I can. Sometimes when I'm hurting, late in a tempo run or a race, I think of dead people I know, in the ground, cold, it motivates me, be thankful, I'm alive, run, pick it up, now. And the Puritan in me feels one should not always be comfortable, suffering is good, yes?

Dark side of being (reasonably) fit is conceit or feeling disdain for others horrifically out of shape. I suspect I'm not entirely alone among my fellow runners. Need to make an effort to be generous, don't judge, everyone's got a story, private, unknown to me.

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Ran 6.7 miles on treadmill this afternoon (I'm unemployed, I can run whenever I want!) 7:08 average pace (6:48 incline adjusted); middle 4.7 at 6:59 average pace (6:44 incline adjusted). I've recently taken to running my warm-up at 3.0 incline, the middle miles at 2.0 incline, and the cool-down at 3.0 to 5.0 incline, today finished up at 6.0 incline, 6:40 pace (so much for a cool-down).

I'm doing the same kind of workout too much, indicated by that fact that I'm starting to race myself from one run to the next, these could eventually turn into tempo runs, which might not be so bad since I've been avoiding tempos or any real speed at all while I try to increase my mileage.

These Nike Vomeros are pretty sweet, soft smooth ride, cruising to the music, about as nice a treadmill run as I could ask for. Only complaint is the tongue isn't long enough. Shin's only slightly worse for wear, hoping damage has levelled off, continuing lots of shin/calf exercises. Maybe I just needed new shoes.

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Groovy quote of the day ...

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

— Robert A. Heinlein