Today has been a very long day. I went home, to Owensboro, this past weekend to play in a golf scramble and help my sister and brother-in-law move into their beautiful new home (congrats you two). I went to work, in Elizabethtown, from Owensboro. This required me to leave around 5:15am central time. I've been awake for awhile.
The work day was productive, yet boring. I stayed active enough to not have to fight to stay awake, but I was tired nonetheless. I knew that I would run tonight. I was worried. Week 3 introduces the 3-minute run. That's twice the length of any run I'd done so far. I expected it to be a challenge and subtly stressed about it all day.
I changed clothes and headed to the gym. I immediately noticed that the two outside treadmills were still out of order. The only working treadmill had an occupant who got off seconds after I arrived...but there was already a line. There was no choice. I had to run outside again and I knew it was going to be hot.
I spoke to the kind ladies in the clubhouse and was informed that the treadmills were going to be repaired, hopefully once and for all, tomorrow. I headed back to my apartment to prepare for an outside run.
I drank some water, applied chapstick, and affixed my iPhone arm band. On the way out the door, I saw my hat. I decided it would help keep the sun and sweat out of my eyes. I grabbed it and headed out.
The previous route I took outside worked out really well, so I planned on doing the same. I walked for 5 minutes and was told to run. I knew the program for Week 3 was two reps of 90 second run/90 second walk and two reps of 3 minute run/3 minute walk. What I did not know was if it alternated. Had I been on the treadmill, I could have seen the time of the run as it came, but with the armband, I had to be prepared for anything.
I hit the same checkpoints for the 5 minute walk, 90 second run, and 90 second walk as I did last Thursday. The next run came and I just ran. Whether it be 90 or 180 seconds I didn't know. I paced myself and tried to take long breaths. I passed the checkpoint from Thursday. I waited a few more seconds in my mind before realizing that this was the 3 minute run. I kept running. I was told to walk before I expected and all the fear built up from the day left me. I did it. That wasn't bad at all.
It was at this point that I realized I was already halfway through the program for the night. That made going on much easier. I ran around the park and finished the program. I'll admit, I was tired in the end, but it wasn't anything I couldn't do. I'm sure my pace slowed towards the end, but I'm not worried about that. My pace was still faster than my treadmill pace. I was pleased with myself. Oh yeah, it was hot today, by the way. Very hot.
Instead of beginning my cooldown walk towards my apartment, I decided to head to a best friend's apartment. He and I usually get to spend some quality time with each other at least once per week, but we've both been busier than normal this summer. I arrived and we caught up with some awesome chats.
We both knew, thanks to UofL's text message alert system, that there had been a water main break on Floyd Street, just a couple blocks away from us. After seeing friends post photos on Facebook, we decided to make the journey across campus.
We approached the Eastern Parkway bridge, from the West ironically, and the fire department was closing it off as we arrived. We diverted ourselves into campus to investigate the horrible flood. We ended up walking around the entire campus, and going to the top floor of the Floyd Street parking garage, to get some good views. Mind you, that my legs felt fine through all of this. I had just finished a run, and I was feeling great!
We took several photos. Below is an album of the photos I took. Remember, this was a water main break, not a flash flood nor rain induced.
After this journey, we parted ways and I walked back to my apartment. I made about a 4 mile trip tonight. As I walked down the street to my apartment complex, I noticed several cars making U-turns. This is usually indicative of a train crossing the tracks. A duck down to look under the trees confirmed this. I considered my options. Taking the detour, while simple by car, would be about a 3/4 mile addition to my route. As it was getting late, I wanted to get home, because I knew this post was going to be long despite its very first sentence. I decided to take my chance that the train wouldn't be crossing for very long.
I was right. The train simply stopped crossing. Dead in its tracks, the train blocked the road. I looked towards its rear and realized that it wasn't too many cars down. With no knowledge of when the train expected to locomote again, I decided to walk around the train. This was the hardest part of my trek home, as the ground was made of large gravel. Not easily walked on, it reminded me of the leg pain I have become so familiar with.
I made the final stretch and arrived back to my apartment. When I left earlier, we had no water due to the water main breakage. I checked it again upon getting back to realize there was still no water. Thankfully I have a standing Brita water cooler and bottled water in the fridge to quench my thirst. As I write this sentence, I finally have water, although we're apparently under a boil water advisory. My only concern was being able to shower after running in the "feels like" triple digit temperature. I can finally do that.
I want to give a big thanks, again, to all of you that have been there for me throughout this journey. Your support, stories, tips, confidence and inspiration have been indescribably helpful to me as I progress. I'm not sure I could do it without you.
Lastly, being that it is Monday, I need to log my weight. I currently weigh 301.2 lbs. That makes a 14.4 lb loss in the past 18 days. It goes to show you that hard work pays off. Seeing those numbers further motivates me to continue.
I must admit that I was honestly concerned with keeping weight off over the weekend. Not running Friday through Sunday and having no Nutrisytem (it's hard to travel with) challenged me to find healthy alternatives to eat. I must thank my family for being willing to change eating plans to help me support my diet, and my mother, in particular, for preparing several healthy meals for me. They have been, above all, the greatest supporters of me and my journey. I can't thank them enough for everything they do for me.
I'll end this post with another quote. This quote reflects where I was 18 days ago. This journey is a choice I made, and I'm glad I did.
-Wayne Dyer
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