Another day, another mile

Yesterday was as nice as spring gets here in the midwest, sunny and warm, with a light wind. If you read my last post, I said something stupid about not running too much too soon after a long layoff. So sue me. I lied. 1 3/4 miles at a snail's pace with no pain. Yes, I'm a fool. Yes, I'm tempting fate. Yes, I'm risking injury recurrance. But if you were with me, outside on the first nice day of the spring, breathing fresh air and squinting into the sun after months of darkness and gloom, you would have done exactly the same thing. Guaranteed. If you don't run, go on and try.

Today will be a partial off day - no running and no elliptical - because I had 40 yards of mulch delivered yesterday that will be all the workout I need today. I see it as a day of cross training - lift, shovel, rake, repeat for 8 hours.

Changing subjects (as a result of my short attention span, your short attention span and a limited ability to drone on about any particular subject for more than a few sentences), let's talk about weight. You may recall that I renewed my working out with a desire to lose weight. After almost 3 years and 45 pounds lost, I find myself plateaued. I have been able to maintain my current weight (about 5 pounds over my college graduation weight) for almost 18 months. Granted, I'm not actively trying to lose any more but it would be nice to get back to where I was upon entering college som 37 years ago. Why? Plain and simple vanity. There, I finally admitted it. Oh sure, there are all of the health benefits of being lighter, the feeling better and having more energy, but basically I want to say I did it - got back to my college weight. Call it vanity, my inner competitiveness, the need for a goal - I don't care how you categorize it, I wanna do it. More later on weight.

Sam, my youngest son (18 and a freshman at the University of Kansas) informed me last night that he would like to run with Sara and me at the Chicago Half Marathon on August 1. I am absolutely thrilled at the thought. My quest of participating side by side with each of my children in some organized sporting event comes one step closer to realization. (That sounds kind of antisceptic after reading it but you get the message). He has been working out a bit at school lately and surprised me when he said he was serious about it. I'll gladly pay his $80 entry fee, his air fare, hotel and victory dinner for this one. If anyone reading this hasn't participated side by side with their child(ren), try it. It will make you incredibly proud and develop bonds stronger than you might imagine.