Shock and awe!

That was my reaction to what the scale told me this morning. I saw a number I haven't seen in maybe 7 years: 189.0! Last year at this time I was 206-209, depending on how much Mexican food I had eaten. I realize this is not a crazy amount of weight to lose in an entire year, but then again it has been entirely a by-product of a hard core training routine over the past year, so BACK OFF! ;-) Anyway, I figure I'm in the single digits for body fat at this point, and I may have 5 more pounds I could lose without loss of lean body mass. Hooray, me!

Mendy and I met for a hot date at lunch: track work in the 80 deg temps, but there was a "nice" 10-12 mph wind blowing. I opted not to do my old HS track team workout as detailed yesterday since I'm not a sprinter, and instead decided on 800 warm up, 400m x 2, 800 x 2, and 400 x 2, with all runs separated by a single 400m recovery lap. My times were better than estimated on the McMillan Running site, and I wound up with:
400 x 2 @ 4:28/mi & 5:02/mi (1:08 &1:16)
800 x 2 @ 5:54/mi & 6:00/mi (2:58 & 3:01)
400 x 2 @ 5:16/mi & 5:08/mi (1:20 & 1:20)

I would say I was between 7/10ths and 8/10ths pace at all times, and it sucked. But I need it, so I'll be incorporating some speed work in probably once a week. Stupid running! Other than the first 400, my pace was fairly consistent. One nice thing about running on a track is that I can concentrate on my stride and foot strike a lot, in short bursts during high intensity when form usually goes out the window.

Man, I'm HUNGRY! Garmin says 581 calories were burned, but I must have kept burning them after the track session was over. I ate half of a medium thin crust pizza and later a protein shake, but I feel like I could tear up some food right now. I think I will do just that!

Recovery, in many ways

Man, I felt like a bag full of hammered poop yesterday. All day. Grace woke us up way too early, and I was a touch dehydrated. I barely choked down a (WAY overpriced) steak at a nearby steakhouse for Mommie's day, and then Grace and I were able to enjoy a nap after a quick visit to the store. A bit better, but I think Mendy's suggestion of Mellow Mushroom pizza (and BPD alongside) were the ticket to recovery. Ah, better. But, still not great.

This morning was Black Monday at work. 70+ people got their lay-off notice, 50+ got absorbed into the outsource agreement we are almost 1/2 way into with EDS, about 40 got assigned to our operating companies, and maybe 50 of us (from my level up to senior exec) are retained into the Shared Services organization. Not sure if that had any bearing, but I felt like poo and had a nervous stomach/GI tract today. Oh well, I guess weight loss is good, right? Hydration must happen!

The weather was prime for a post-work ride, so I make plans. Didn't map anything out, but had an idea. I had hoped for a 35+ mile ride, but wound up with a 21+ mile ride. Not a bad distance TT, but I wasn't hammering, and could had held this average pace for much longer. Drat! Oh well, I wound up doing 21.73 miles in 1h 43s, for a 21.47mph average in a hilly route. Not bad, I guess. No aero wheels (Bonty Race Lites) and a non-aero helmet (Giro Transfer), on my tri bike. I'm loving my new 53/42 crank with 175mm arms! These are gonna kick so much booty on the flatter courses coming up.

Tomorrow is gonna be track work, I believe. I may do my old high school track workout of in-and-outs: 800m warm up, 100-100-100-100 sprint/recover intervals, 200-200 sprint/recover intervals, 300-100 sprint/walk interval, and 400 sprint, with a cool down. Man, that always kicked my butt! Maybe I'll do it twice, 'cause I'm an over-driven doofus. :-)

Later.