200

I’m getting fat. The winter weight is bloating my body and I don’t like it. I’m like a squirrel or a bear, except that I’ll have no shortage of sustenance this winter, so the pounds are just piling up.

Run 5 miles, lose 3.4 pounds. Nice!

Time to exercise some self-discipline. No, not that kind, perv.

I need to run more. I need to eat better. I need to drink less. Sleep more. Find a routine that’s healthier than staying up late watching movies just because I worked until 9:30 or 10 p.m.

Everyone knows I bike everywhere around town. It is my preferred mode of transportation. And they know I run. But I bike for the joy of it and to get from point A to point B. I rarely pedal like I mean it. You know, like a fitness biker. If plodding or trudging could apply to bicycling, that’s my speed. I trundle along at a leisurely pace. Yeah, it’s certainly healthier than driving – and cheaper – but I’m not really controlling my weight that way. As for running, well, I need to get back to thrice a week and build the miles.

Consider this from the Tao The Ching (The Way of Life):

A man of sure fitness, without making a point of his fitness,

Stays fit;

A man of unsure fitness, assuming an appearance of fitness,

Becomes unfit.

Tempted, but I left them in case somebody
decides to come back for them.

There’s more to that verse (No. 38 in my translation), but I like to focus on the opening lines. I’m not really a fraud, but people have a different view of me than do I. That’s true for all of us, I suppose, but I feel false when others comment on my apparent fitness, based on their observation of my cycling and running habits. So I’d just like to set the record straight.

I’m somewhat of a slacker at times. It’s too easy to sleep in when you don’t have to be at work until after noon most days. Damn, I should have stuck to my drums. I certainly could enjoy the rocker’s daily schedule (at least as portrayed by Stewart Copeland, whose memoir I’m reading now, and other rock stars whose bios I’ve read). I feel the weight difference. I confirmed it the other day and again today, stepping on the scale before my afternoon run and reading an even 200.

I don’t care what you weigh. I’m not judging anybody else here. This is about my body image and my happiness. And I’m not happy at 200 pounds. Granted, it’s 15 to 20 pounds less than I weighed two and a half years ago when I started running, so that’s good. But I got down to 185 that summer. Now, maybe that’s doable again, maybe it’s a manageable weight. Frankly I’d be happy at 190. I’d been hovering at 193 this past summer. I’d take that back. Time to get to work.

Christmas is not the best time to try to lose 10 pounds. But it’s not too early for a New Year’s resolution is it?

Free beer! Woo Hoo!

Today’s Stats (12/18/12)

Temp: 49 degrees F

Distance: 5 miles

Weekly Total: 5 miles

Treasure: 35 cans (including 1 full Busch beer and 1 unopened by leaking can of Busch); 1 homemade Mix CD (“Old School Slow Jams”).

iPod Playlist (Shuffle)

Lucky Star – Madonna

Beautiful – Christina Aguilera

Floating Back (live) – The Call

Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne

Terminal Frost – Pink Floyd

Don’t Let it End – Styx

Drink (acoustic) – Fiction Plane

Tell Me What You Want – The Beatles

Rosanna – Toto

For a Dancer (live) – Jackson Browne

By My Side – JJ Grey & Mofro

Dream On – Glee Cast Feat. Neil Patrick Harris

Today's Stats (12/11/12)

Temp: 29 degrees F

Distance: 4.6 miles

Weekly Total:4.6  miles

Treasure: 14 cans.

iPod Playlist (Running Playlist):

Wait Until Tomorrow – John Mayer

I lost the between songs because my iPod battery died before I made the list. I always write down the first and last to know the end points. Damned battery.

California – James Taylor and Joni Mitchell