Fitness Update

I meant to do this on Friday, but got too busy with other things. Sera and I started out a week ago Monday with 4 km in 21 minutes. We took the same route on Wednesday, covering the same distance in 20. Friday, I did it myself in 19. Either we or I have done the route every other day, and tonight I did it in 17. That covered "Hell's Bells," "Back in Black," "Shoot to Thrill," "Givin' the Dog a Bone," and 37 seconds of "What do You do for Money, Honey?" To listen to more AC/DC, I'm going to have to start walking a longer route!

Leg tightness? Feels good. Wind? Better than I expected. I had to stop twice the first day, but not since and tonight I just blew through it. Lower back? Oh my goodness, the pain! I started out weighing in at our school nurse's scale, which is the same one they use to weigh in for wrestling. I tipped the scales at 330 pounds, an all-time high for me. I'd say I'm carrying a good 25% of that in my chest and belly, so it's no big surprise how much pain there was. I will work through it, and as I lose some of that fat my back should feel better. I'll be thinking about that pain every time I'm tempted to have a Coke, and I won't be having a smile with it, I'll tell you that much.

It's funny how much better I feel already after just five times out. I remember my days on the football field, with Coach Bill Hollenbeck shouting out in his cracking voice, "Make yourself better!" as we ran laps or sprints. I remember my senior year when cross-country transfer Phil Perro led the way in running distances in football practice until I decided that pain wasn't going to stop me from kicking his butt. I finally found a way to break through the hurt and smoked him every time out from that day forward, despite the fact that he would hold back during hitting drills (I didn't) so he would have more energy for the running part of practice. I was in the best shape of my life that fall of 1982.

I want to feel that way again.