WEEK 12 (October 15-October 21)

Tuesday: Weight machine workout; 10-minutes in sauna/10-minutes in steam room; Easy 3-Mile Run

Wednesday: Free-weight workout; 15-minutes in steam room

Friday: 4-Mile Run on treadmill (speed and hills); 10-minutes in sauna

Saturday: Three reps each of Teaser/V-up/Straight-leg twisting crunch/Seated criss-cross/Ankle-weighted reverse crunches/3-rounds shadow boxing/3-rounds on heavy bag; Combo weight machine workout

Sunday: 6-Mile Run

Total Running Miles: 13

Weight: 194.4 (-16 lbs.)

Training Days Remaining: 71

Notes: I hit a big wall this week around Thursday. I’ve been doing two-a-days three times a week to further shock my system, plus eating less food. Also this was the third week of the boys being home on fall break, so three kids in the house to deal with all day. This resulted in me getting up at 5:00 a.m. most days to find a few hours of quiet to get some work done and exercise, so I was maybe getting six hours sleep. All these factors combined and my body shut down. I just stayed in bed for 12-hours and rested.

This didn’t fix everything, but it put me in position to get back up off the mat and finish this week’s workouts. I’m over half way to my weight loss goal, and a large part of that success is situations like my Sunday run. We went hiking in Cove Springs Park around 5:00 p.m. Sunday, and I hauled my daughter up hills and trails in a front-loaded harness. That’s an extra 20-pounds on me. We got back to the house around 6:30 and it took 30-minutes to talk myself into going for a run around 7:30 p.m.

That was not pretty and bordered on dangerous as it was dark and the lighting was poor on the Connector. Oncoming car lights were blinding. I didn’t even see this dude carrying fishing poles on the Connector bridge until he was a foot away. Very freaky. Some animal was tracking me briefly on the ridgeline above the roadside. I could only see its legs. It was probably just a deer, but slightly concerning. Running his hard enough, no need to get eaten as well. Then I headed back home along Old Lawrenceburg Road, which has no shoulder and little lighting.

This was a tough run, not relaxing, but it was my long run for the week and missing it would have wrecked my mileage. Plus I needed that exercise to hit my weight goal. It sucked to get up off the couch and walk out the door, but I guilted myself into getting it done – and as a reward I hit my weight.

My food was good this week. My downfall was candy. Halloween is upon us and there are temptations everywhere. I’ve stripped away many indulgences from my diet, so as a consequence it has caused my sweet tooth to go crazy. I get huge sugar cravings, so I fell for the 3-jumbo candy bars for $3; Kit Kat, Payday, and Butterfinger. But I offset the sugar with exercise and eating mostly cereal, soup, and crackers otherwise.