Say it ain't so

Not since the day-after-Thanksgiving fiasco have I tried to go to the gym. Right around that time I started refereeing high school soccer games and I ran outdoors a few times in December and some more times in January, so I haven't exactly been inactive.

However, it has been a long time between gym visits and part of that can be attributed to the Holiday Season Gorge-fest. And today I found out that I have not exactly gotten all the remnants of that off my body.

I weighed in at 190.9. Oh man. I haven't weighed in at 190 or more since Nov. of 07. I maintained my weight at 189 or less, and usually was around 182-185, for all of 2008. Even in the 2007 Holiday Season Gorge-fest I did not get above 190. I was certain that I would have but I weighed in at around 188 or so in my first trip to the gym in January.

Now, I can't say I'm necessarily surprised by this. I haven't been running consistently, even after the New Year. Of course, it's not like I've been sitting around doing nothing in that span. Really, I've been quite busy between refereeing and cooking and everything else that involves running a household, it's tough. Plus, I've been carrying an annoying ankle discomfort (not quite an injury) for about 10 days now, and I rested Sunday in an ultimately futile effort to get rid of the pain - otherwise I'd have ran a few miles at least.

But what I've learned is this: refereeing soccer games is a decent workout but that's about it. It's easy for me to think that running around for 70-80 minutes constitutes a good workout - my heart rate monitor usually tells me that I've burned about 800 calories minimum per game. And it's easy to get that false sense of confidence as well. But what I figured out is that, for me, there is no replacing running. There is nothing I can do that will keep me in top physical condition other than running. When I run, I feel at my best. Plain and simple. I was able to go from 200 down to under 190 and stay there because of running.

So that's why I'm not totally freaked out about this 190.9 anomaly. After that wake-up call, I did some bike, some core exercises and my favorite interval run (from which I cut three minutes of the warm-up/cool down) and got in 3.54 miles on the 'mill. Afterward I weighed again and was at 189.0, which is about average for me. My post-workout weight usually is two pounds less than my pre-workout weight. So I average it out (don't know if it's right or not) and that's the weight I go by.

I've got a plan now. I will weigh myself next Tuesday at the gym and report back. That will force me to get back on track with my nutrition, which I have been for the most part, and will force me to run more as well. I plan on running outside on Thursday, possibly another gym trip on Friday and one outdoor distance run on Saturday. We'll see what next week brings but for the upcoming days that's what I've got.

I predict.... that I won't be at 190 by next week. I think I can get down to 187 or so, if I know my body. As long as I get my runs in and stick to my meal plan (what a novel concept!) I think I should be okay.