The Heavy Man's Diary: Day #116 - An Uphill Challenge

The work day went by extremely slowly, however it was very productive. Usually when I have a very productive day, it seems to go by quicker then usual. Maybe it is was all of the phone calls that I was receiving today or maybe it was the 1 1/2 hour training session that helped me learn how to use the ticketing system for my event in Charleston. Well whatever it was, the day went by extremely slowly. But thank goodness I managed to get a lot done. Anyway, the one thing that did keep me going today was thinking about what back streets I was going to take while running tonight.

I mentioned in my post, two days ago, that I attempted to go running outside for the first time in a while because my gym key wasn't working properly, thus not allowing me to enter the gym that I workout at. But I think this little mishap led to the decision of me, The Heavy Man, trying to incorporate more days of running outside as the new cardio portion of my workout routine. When I attempted this the other night, my knees and shins ended up being sore shortly after I was done running. However, tonight's results were not as bad.

As soon as I got home from work, I put my things down, kissed Patty good bye, and was out the door ready to try and do this running outside thing again for the second straight cardio day. As I started down the street everything was feeling ok. My legs were feeling a little stiff from the other day but were quickly loosening up by the time I reached the end of the street. Once at the end of my street, I figure I would take a left and go in the opposite direction I did the other night. For those of you who don't know the Essex County area, the road I turned to run down is pretty long and I was determined to run to the end and make my way back. While running down that road, I noticed that it was pretty dark and it was also hard to see all of the cracks and bumps in the sidewalk pavement. So, with the fear of tripping and making a fool of myself, I kept my eyes towards the ground looking up occasionally.

Running the entire length of the road was surprisingly, not that bad, and I had made it to the end without stopping once. I actually looked down at the stop watch on my IPOD and it said I had gone for 15 minutes. I was feeling great but as I turned to cross the road to go back the way I came, I suddenly realized something that made me take a deep breath. The reason I was feeling great after the first 15 minutes was because I ran the entire road, down hill. I was so busy concentrating on not tripping over the bumps in the sidewalk, in the dark, that I didn't even realize that I was running down hill. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't a steep slope but you could definitely see the difference running back up the street as opposed to running down the street, the way I came. So as I stood there catching my breath and gathering the energy I needed to get back to my apartment, a thought popped into my mind. I guess that is the beauty of running outside without an easy way of getting back to where you started. No matter what, you have to challenge yourself to get home, even if it means running up a long hill to do so. After all was said and done, I made back to the apartment in one piece, about 35 minutes later from the time I started my workout. I gotta admit, I do like running outside and switching up the routine. Hopefully it is working!

With that being said, let's get to the details of the day:

Meals of the Day (The Heavy Man - 37 Points)
(I am currently following the Weight Watchers Points System)

Breakfast - 2 Eggo nutrigrain waffles with a cup of Light'n Fit yogurt and a serving of strawberries and brown sugar = Points 5
Snack During the Day - 1 Weight Watchers brownie, 2 pears, and 1 Weight Watchers carrot cake = Points 5
Early Afternoon - 1 serving of homemade Beef Stroganoff (Weight Watchers Recipe) = Points 9
Late Afternoon - 1 Boca Veggie Burger on Weight Watchers flat rye bread and a serving of baked Tostitos with mango salsa = Points 5
Dinner - 1 serving of homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu (Weight Watchers Recipe) with a side of 99% fat free eggo noodles and a serving of peas = Points 11
Dessert - 1 Weight Watchers ice cream bar = Points 3

Total Points Eaten Today = 38 Points (1 point over my daily limit)

Exercise

Today I ran outside for the second cardio workout day in a row. Tomorrow I will be executing the weight lifting and strength training portion of my workout routine.

Day #116 - Weigh-In = 250.2 lbs (This is an example of the day by day weight fluctuation at its best. Yesterday I weighed in at 249.8 lbs and today I am at 250.2 lbs. I will be weighing comfortably in the 240's very soon, I can guarantee that)