As I was thinking about what to share this week I had trouble thinking of anything notable. I was considering saying “nothing to share” but in a more eloquent way. I really thought I had no accomplishments or events worth sharing.

After thinking more about it I am crazy! I set 2 big personal records this week! How could I think I had nothing worth sharing?!

I think I have hit a point where I under-appreciate how non-ordinary what I am doing really is. I still look at this journey through an “average” person’s eyes.

The truth is that I know that anybody can do what I have done and am continuing to do. It just takes goals, discipline, data and solid project management … with a touch of competition and inspiration. It is not impossible… anybody can do it.

But they don’t! I didn’t do it for over 40 years either.

It has become apparent to me that, despite starting what you could call a “brag blog”, I don’t really celebrate my accomplishments in this journey very well. I just have a personally remarkable accomplishment and move onto the next.

I honestly don’t give myself enough credit. My evidence: I really thought I had nothing worth sharing this week.

Check In with the Doc

I went back to have another 90-day check-in with my doctor this week. The main goal being to check on my blood pressure and overall progress.

Good news… I have a clean bill of health. My blood pressure is doing great and I am done with medication. Plus my heart sounds great and I am good with pretty much everything else across the board right now. I go back in December and we will be redoing blood work to check how everything else is progressing.

One interesting moment from my appointment has to do with how my medical profile (my words, not the doctor) has evolved. When I started this journey I had a profile of a sedentary, obese American on a path to early death. Now my profile is different. My doctor described me as being in the category of “aging athlete” and that changes the things that we focus on with my health. I have gone from focusing on how to prevent me from dying to how to ensure peak athletic performance.

That is huge progress!

New Low Weight

Speaking of huge progress…. I hit a new low weight earlier this week. I officially crossed the 130 pounds lost mark! Only 5 or so more pounds and I am switching to weight maintenance instead of weight loss.

Of course I have done nothing but gain temporary water weight since hitting that low weight. Due to high sodium intake in the back half of this week I am now working my way through a temporary weight fluctuation of more than 5 pounds. I know I will get past that early this week but it is a little frustrating none the less.

New Record Distance Run: 13.4 Miles

My preparations for the half marathon continued this week and I had a nice long run on Saturday. My total distance was 13.4 miles (more than a half marathon) and my pace was 12:45 and that is faster than I did last time I did a 13 mile distance.

That means both progress and a personal record!

The long run wasn’t easy and I did think a few times about cutting it short. I caught myself thinking that way and stopped it. You don’t get to your goal by shortcutting your training and I am going to get to my goal. I am going to finish a half marathon in just under a month!

The long run was rewarding and helped build my confidence for the marathon for sure. But it was also a lot of fun because I explored various parts of the city that I haven’t been to for a long time. I ran from home all the way up to the Ohio State University campus and to the stadium where the Buckeyes were going to be playing just a few hours later. It was great.

I really love my city and one of the best ways to celebrate that love of Columbus is to run through every one of its nooks and crannies!

After the run I was starving and ate every bit of food I could find through the day. I burnt over 2000 calories during the run and my total daily calorie target is 1900, so I burned more than a full day of calories in just a couple of hours. It was super important to replenish some of those and that I did!

This morning, Sunday, I woke up pretty sore from my run. But instead of letting that pain turn this into a non-exercise day, I decided to make it an “active” rest day. I took a nice long 5-mile walk to enjoy my cool Sunday morning and to get my joints stretched and warm.

Thanks for reading! Check back next week for more!

Last week’s stats (9/10-9/16):
Distance walked/run: 37.6 miles (+3.3 vs. LY)
Total calories burnt: 22,470 (-6,361 vs. LY)
Total calories consumed: 16,061 (+3,291 vs. LY)
Net calories: -6,409 (+9,652 vs. LY)
Weight change: 3.2 pounds lost (-0.3 vs LY)
Best Weight Day: Tuesday, -130.4 total pounds down