Day 100: I've Lost 10 Pounds!

Seems fitting that on my 100th day of training, I've finally hit another important "tenfold" milestone! I'm down 10 pounds! Yay.

I haven't been dieting, but I have changed the way I think about food. Now I look at it that all food is fuel - even treats - because they give me calories I need. Here's an example. This weekend, I ate a piece of a friend's birthday cake that was pure whipped cream and 24 layers of mille feuille. It was the best cake I've had in my entire life, hands down. I don't think I'll ever forget it. It gave me dairy, carbs and calories (about 600 I figured) which I would need to sustain me on my run the next day. All good.

When everyone had finished their first slice, seconds came around. A few of the girls tried to push a plate on me, "You have it! You're running 10 miles tomorrow! Have it for us!" they whined. I thought about it. The first slice had been heaven. We were all dying in ecstasy. But, what exactly would slice #2 give me? ...a better ingrained memory of ecstasy? Hm... The original memory was pretty well seeded. If I ate a second piece, that would be more energy than I needed. So, I decided my memory of it was strong enough and passed. The girls let out a disappointed sigh as we passed the plate over to one of the guys and he snarfed the cake down in three bites.

That's the kind of thing that happens to me now that didn't happen before. I make choices differently. I consider how food will make me feel, and how well I will remember it, if it's a treat.

So, here I am adding more treats, eating more frequently, and not feeling guilty about food any more... and I'm losing weight. Kind of fun to be turning into one of those people I used to hate! I have a feeling that losing the next 10 pounds is going to be slow going, though. I just started keeping a food journal so that when I finally do see a nutritionist, she can read the tea leaves for me and let me know if I'm doing the best I can to support my running.

Tonight I'm going to be running 2-3 miles on the treadmill. Last week's Monday night run was a disaster because I was so burned out from having run the 9. But I feel better today than I did last Monday. Blisters have subsided. Legs feel good. I really hope I have the energy to go the distance. We shall see...

Addendum: Ran 2.5 miles in 28:27, which nets to an 11:22 mile. I was really strong and could have gone another half mile to complete the 3 but the gym closed up in my face. Anyway, that's fine. I am puzzled as to why it was so much easier to recover from running 10 miles yesterday than it was to recover from 9 miles last Sunday. Last week I could barely move on Monday night. Number one rule in running: Do not attempt to apply your usual logic here! Give yourself over to the advice of experts. Beginners, beware! You know even less than you think you know!