WEEK 13 (October 22-October 28)

Wednesday: Weight machine workout; 15-minutes in sauna; Easy 3-Mile Run

Thursday: Three reps each of Sit-ups/Push-ups/6″/Extreme/Medicine ball reverse crunches; 3-rounds shadow boxing/3-rounds on heavy bag

Friday: D/O

Saturday: Free-weight workout; 4-Mile Run (treadmill)

Sunday: 7-Mile Run

Total Running Miles: 14

Weight: 195.6 (-14.8 lbs.)

Training Days Remaining: 64

Notes: This week started rough and stayed that way. My weight went up 1.2 pounds. I took two consecutive rest days at the beginning of the week to try and re-energize. Then missed my Friday workout because it was nasty out and I wanted to hang with the family.

That little voice inside made an appearance for the first time as well, letting me know it would be OK if I didn’t work so hard – I should take some down time and I would still hit my mark.

Again damage control is key. I was up early Saturday and was at the YMCA to do free weights and a run. The seven miler Sunday wasn’t pretty, and shouldn’t be since I haven’t run that far in over a year. I couldn’t stride out well, especially since I did a hard four miles the day before on the treadmill, but I shuffled my way through without incident. My pain management skills are getting better.

As the weather has gotten cooler I’ve noticed I’m not drinking my water the way I should, which partly has contributed to me eating more. I ate way too much bread this week, which is a large part of why my weight was up. Also all the weight lifting I’ve been doing may add some pounds.

I think it’s time to re-introduce a fourth day of running. It will be low mileage, but that should shock my system back into a weight loss mode. If I consistently drink my water and monitor my food better I should drop a couple pounds this week.

That’s the plan anyway. It sounds good in theory.