Catching Up

Busy, busy, busy.

I'm a little late in saying this but...HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

I'm not sure where all my time has been going lately, I just don't know. Funny how the days can fly by if you're not paying attention. Ok...a quick run down on what has happened in the last two weeks:

EN Winter's Run Challenge: I scored a whole whopping 11.2 pts. Between weather issues and time challenges, I managed 3 runs total. It's a start. I'm hoping I can get in at least 1-2 outside runs per week for the rest of the off-season (winter). Although the weather looks like it's going to keep me inside this week. It's blizzard season here in Chicago.

The EN Weight Challenge: yep, another challenge....one that is much harder for me...weight loss. The reward is personal. Gosh how I would love to lose some extra unwanted weight. My goal is to lose 12-13 lbs by June 1 or in other terms, dropping a pant size or two or losing about 5% body fat.

To help me track my progress, I splurged on a Tanita Ironman Scale which measures all kinds of stuff including, weight, body fat, water hydration, physique rating, visceral fat, metabolic age, and . When I stepped on the scale for the first time, the results didn't surprise me. Unfortunately, the numbers were what I expected.

Weight: 148 lbs
Body Fat: 30.4%
Body Water: 48.9% (healthy is 45-60%)
Muscle mass: 98.0 lbs
Physique Rating: 5 (both my muscle mass and my body fat is average/healthy)
Bone Mass: 5.2 lbs (5.3 lbs for my weight is good)
BMR: 1404 (# calories
Metabolic Age: 36
Visceral Fat: 5 lbs (# of lbs of body fat surrounding vital organs)

I weigh in every Monday. Today I didn't--that's another story. When I weigh in on Tuesday, I'm hoping to see progress(it doesn't have to be much). I just need something in the downward direction.

Change of Plans: I could totally relate to Waddler's post on Saturday. She had forgotten her cycle shoes and therefore disappointingly had to settle with a run. As if we had a cosmic mirror I was feeling the same way. I was all set to get in a good ride on Sharkie (my bike) and burn some calories. I pumped the front tire with air and then continued on to the back. Air wasn't going in, so I popped off the pump valve to try again but broke the valve stem. What air was in my back tire went out in a flash. Dang it. I was upset; now I was forced to change my exercise plans. As I begrudgingly headed to the fitness center, I decided to run on the treadmill. I hadn't run in awhile. It didn't feel real good to me; it felt labored, really labored. And that worries me. I ran/walk for an hour finishing just 4.5 miles. How in the world am I going to do 26. 2 miles after riding for 112 miles? Oh I'm scared! I've got a long training road ahead of me.

In the Cold: Saturday night I woke in the middle of the night to some awful sounds. What is that? In my grogginess, I thought it was a lawn mower. What? Ok, that 's not it, it's winter. Snowblower? At 2 am? Then, I realized it was my furnace. It makes a lot of noise, but Saturday...it sounded like a cat had got trapped by the tail in the motor. Of course, I ignored and went back to sleep. The awful sounds lasted through the night but the furnace died on Sunday afternoon. I didn't want to cough up extra $$ for an emergency visit from the heating guy so I went through the night with out heat. It wasn't too bad. Luckily my townhouse is a unit that is sandwiched in between two others which helps my heat insulation. The temp dropped to 54°. 3 Blankets, a down comforter, thermal pj's and Ed helped keep the bed nice and toasty warm.

After a whole 10 seconds of evaluation, the HVAC guy states I need a new motor. Yeah, I could have told you that. Unfortunately, he doesn't carry my brand so I'm waiting out another day with out heat. It's really not so bad. I managed to raise my house's temp this evening by cooking some chicken in my oven, and using a little space heater (just blows warm air--there are no heat coils). I got the house to 60°. Whoo hoo. Back to why I didn't weigh myself today for the "great Monday weigh in"; I didn't want to take my clothes off to step on the scale. Whaaaaat? It was too cold.

I'm off to hibernate for the night.