Random

So, I've got a couple things to write about, but no ideas for a coherent blog post. So, you get bullet points:

Losin' It

• "The Battle of the Bulge", as described in last Friday's post seems to have gotten off to a decent start. I've lost just over 4 pounds since last Thursday night. Now, I know there's often a big loss the first week of a diet, but I think I did pretty well in eating less during the day (salads for lunch, no salty snacks or desserts during the day) and working out every day this week. I can tell I'm eating less because I'm actually finding myself feeling hungry, rather than just eating because it's time to eat or because I loooooooove eating. Good start, but gotta stick with it...
  

Running/Fitness

• I'm going to go running tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect or what goals to set, I just know I'm going running for the first time in over a month. I'm excited, but also nervous. The shinsplits on the right leg seem better, but I'm hoping I can tell pretty quickly whether the Left Leg Mystery Bump is going to be problem, rather than something that isn't noticeable until I get the mileage back up. If it needs further treatment, I'd like to know sooner rather than later. Check back tomorrow to see how it goes. (I bet the suspense is KILLING you!) Update: Forecast is snow tonight and into tomorrow. So we'll see about this. Perfect timing. I loathe snow.
  
  
• I've run a total of 2.5 miles in 2012. I'm signed up for 8 miles worth of races by the end of April.
  
  
• I've been re-thinking my running goals. That probably can hold for a future post though since the next couple of weeks are probably going to show whether it's ok to start working my way back, and since that's supposed to be what this blog is about, anyway.
  
  
• NEXT WEEK! I'll announce the first "Earn Your Donuts" contest and giveaway. I have an actual prize, it's not just pictures of my cats or autographed running bibs, or autographed cats, I promise. It's an actual company that you've probably heard of. (I wasn't sure what heading to put this under).
  

Off-topic

• After a couple (ok a lot!) more listens, I like the new Van Halen album even more. My musical tastes have changed over the last 12 years or so. I would never claim to have any punk rock credibility at all, but that's mostly what I've been listening too. This week, though, has been a complete Van Halen binge. It's 1984 again, and I love it. (All hail the defending World Champion Baltimore Orioles!) Don't feel bad, Sammy Hagar, I've got your stuff mixed in there, too. I still like you even if the Van Halens don't.
  
  
• Friday night is my favorite part of the week. The end of the work week, the first sip of beer, a relaxing dinner at home or a local restaurant, and Fringe. Fringe, on FOX, is one of my current favorite TV shows, fitting nicely into the weird sci-fi/mystery niche that's still been vacant in my life since the end of LOST (still mad about that ending, though!). Unlike LOST, though, which was -- or at least seemed -- smart, I think Fringe is really just campy fun. "Previously on Fringe...a bunch of things that don't really make sense." During my high school years, I spent many a Friday night with Agents Scully and Mulder, making Fringe seem comfortably familiar.

• You may think it would be cute and funny to teach a cat to sit on your shoulders like a parrot. It's not.

It's Fun to Stay at The...

As I mentioned in my last post, Chris and I joined a gym, the Harrisburg YMCA (I'll probably be at the West Shore branch almost exclusively), but I had yet to get myself over there until this morning, when I did 45 minutes on a stationary bike at about a 16mph clip.

I'm not really sure if that's good or not, I hit the "interval workout" button and started pedaling, and I don't have an accurate distance (about 12 simulated miles) or calorie count because I accidentally reset the workout after 20 minutes instead of pausing it. Still, it was good to get some cardio in and it didn't feel like I lost all my conditioning in the last three weeks like I pessimistically feared.

I'll probably mostly bike for all next week, and then mix in the elliptical, since I remember from the last time I had a real gym membership where I used cardio (2001-2003), that I burned more calories on the elliptical. I might see if there's a spin class that fits my schedule, and I'd like to swim once a week, too, but right now I'm happy to just have the monkey off my back.

I know what you're all thinking: "Brian, what about the mystery bump?" Mystery bump didn't bother me during the ride. I wore my compression socks, which I'm sure made me look very cool, and when I pulled them down after my ride to check on mystery bump, it wasn't initially visible at all but then quickly puffed to its full size, which is kind of disgusting to watch. This seems to indicate the compression socks are doing their job, and it also makes me wonder if I have/had some overtraining injury in my left leg unrelated to mystery bump, since these were the same compression socks I wore on my last run in Jamaica, where I had considerable pain in both legs. If it's something that's only going to bother me when I run, well, that's a problem, but I still have a few weeks before I should worry about that.

One of the challenges of riding a stationary bike or using an elliptical machine or treadmill is boredom. The scenery doesn't change, and there's not even the challenge of trying to keep from falling off the bike (I used to fall off NordicTrack all the time, though) or avoid getting hit by cars. At least on a bike I can read. With my Shuffle at fall blast and a magazine in front of me, it wasn't too bad.

Today, I had an issue of Running Times magazine, which Chris got me for Christmas. Running Times is published by Rodale, which also publishes the better-known Runner's World. That seemed odd to me, but at first read, it seems like Running Times is geared toward the more serious runner...in fact, it's probably a little too serious and technical for me even though I'm sure I'll learn a lot from it. Runner's World has a lot of useful stuff and good feature writing, but also a lot of fluff, in my opinion. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy it, but it means I get through an issue really quickly. Ideally, there would be a weekly (so I have constant reading while I'm using cardio machines) running magazine that's right in between the two in its level of seriousness. Get on that, Rodale.