Just a quick break from lunch in order to update.

So far, it's been a great week. I've been on a downward trend with my weight, albeit slow. But the experts say that's the way to do it-no big crash diets . . . slow and steady. Sort of applying WW methods. Eat what I want, to a point, just watch portion size.

Monday was warm and humid. I did a 3 1/2 miler and the legs and joints are improving. I guess a new, second rate shoe (Asics Foundation are better than worn out top shelf Brooks Beast. Anyway, the run was good and believe it or not, I actually chased down and passed a runner in our 'hood. Boy, did that feel good!

Tuesday was warmer . . . low 90s. I did a 3 miler over at Susan's house. I wanted to do 4 but I know I need to build/recover slowly. I'd rather walk away wanting more than regretting it the next day. Afterwards, I got to play sitter/dad . . . . Susan had an open house at school she had to attend so I stayed with the girls. Guess what-I survived!

It's Monday lunch time and I'm catching up.

I think I may have figured out why I've been having trouble focusing. You'll need to go to My Hot Girlfriend to follow that train of thought ;-)

I ran 3 miles last Thursday and then played 9 holes of golf. The new shoes felt pretty good and the legs are coming around. The golf was okay . . . shot 44 (bogey golf).

I ran 4 miles Saturday morning. It was fairly cool but humid. New shoes are feeling better and legs aren't gimpy..

Did I mention that you need to go to the other website??????

wow. Time flys. Period. I need to catch up.

Last week was not a good running week. Really couldn't figure it out until the weekend when I started backtracking. The shoes. Yep. The shoes.

I had been noticing the last several weeks that the knees, ankles, thighs were hurting. Not normal for me. Even when I'm at my fattest, joint pain has never really been a big issue. Saturday, I actually had to stop and walk because my legs were hurting so bad. Being the engineering type, I try to keep track of miles run on each pair (yes I run in multiple pairs-it's better on the shoes). The shoes I've been slogging around in were bought in April of 07. Wow-that's pretty old. The mileage was the killer-400+ miles in each pair. No wonder my legs were killing me.

I've been in Brooks Beast 9 for awhile and I recently read where Brooks is discontinuing the 9 and bumping it up to the 10. However, I need shoes NOW. I went in the local running store, TrakShak, just to see what they had. I love Saucony . . . they feel good but wear out quickly. Same for Mizuno. Love the feel and my marathon PR was run in Mizuno Wave Renegades. However, I felt like a change. How about Asics Foundation 8. Let's give 'em a try.

I ran Monday in my old Beasts and barely finished 3 miles. Ran to TrakShak on Tuesday and bought the Foundations. Ran 3 miles in them on Wednesday. Initially, the legs were hurting but felt better by the end of the run. I'm planning on 3 or 4 miles this afternoon and then walking 9 holes. We'll let you know how it goes.

On a side note, I went to the Dr. last week. My neck and left shoulder have been killing me. No, not heart attack kind of pain. This is that stiff, hard to roll the head, feels like something is tearing kind of pain. My Doc took a series of neck and skull x-rays. I was concerned that I may have done some damage from a nasty spill I took about a year ago. Don't ask. Anyway . . . Tim called today and said that there are no signs of cracks, leissions, or disc damage. However, he did see signs of progressing cervical arthritis between 3, 4, 5 discs. Not much to do in way of treatment. He has put me on Robaxin (muscle relaxer) for a while. He has also said that anti-inflammatories would help. However, with GERD, I am not supposed to take anti-inflammatories. It sucks getting older. I think I'll call my GI and ask him about taking Motrin for a while. the main thing is to come up with a long term plan to limit the pain. Anybody out there ever done accupuncture?

just a quickie . . .

Ran 3 miles late yesterday afternoon. The temp was 94 when I started and again I did not want to know the heat index. Running in this heat is tough and I can tell I did the four miler on Monday. The legs aren't really sore . . . Just tired, I guess.

What doesn't kill you . . . .

will make you stronger? Not too sure about that one but I do know it will make you sweaty!

Very tough afternoon. Got home around 4:15 and was mowing the lawn by 4:30. According to my thermometer it was 96 degrees. I didn't even want to know the heat index. After mowing, it drank about 1 pint of water, laced up my shoes and started off on my 4 miler. I took a wet rag and turned on sprinkler. Very much needed. I completed the 4 miler and checked . . . still 96 degrees. YUCK.

The important thing is that I did it!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Way too short for me.

Down to business-
I ran 4 miles Thursday afternoon. Temperature wasn't too bad (low 90s) but the humidity was high and it just "felt" like hell. Wet rag and sprinkler time!

I was bad, bad, bad. I did not run this weekend. I normally try to get a run in on Saturday but passed in hopes of running on Sunday. Susan and I went to my parents for the "BIG BREAKFAST" on Saturday morning. Needless to say, we didn't have to eat the rest of the day. Seriously. I ended up going to bed without feeling hungry or eating lunch or dinner or even a snack.

Sunday, we went to church and worked in Susan's yard. It was so hot and after about 3 hours of digging, raking, etc. I just didn't feel like running.

I am planning on going for a run this afternoon. It should be interesting. Temps are in the high 90s with indices between 105-110. Definitely a damp rag and sprinkler day. I deserve the punishment for skipping my weekend run. I'll post results . . . if I survive!