Weigh-In and My Next 5K

I lost 2.8 pounds this week. For some reason, that 2.8 pounds made me look leaps and bounds thinner in my weekly picture, which you will see in a bit. But first, let's address the teasers I wrote about earlier today, yes?

Another 5K! My friend Sara Rabbit, who you might remember from this post, texted me about a 5K in Regent Square on August 27th. Run Around the Square has a 5K and a 1.5-mile run/walk. Sara Rabbit, who is a stellar runner, said she was doing the 5K, but I wasn't so sure about another 5K so soon (you'll find out why in a minute), so I initially committed to the 1.5-mile run/walk. From the route posted on the site, it looks like you hike through the park. Maybe not hike per se, but there's definitely a higher level of nature involved as opposed to the 1.5-mile run/walk, which is through the streets. But, after a handful of excuses and a long conversation with myself, I decided to do the 5K. I'm looking forward to it. Sara Rabbit has been accepted to one of the best PhD writing programs in the country, so she won't be around Pittsburgh for much longer. I'm sad to say that this will be our farewell for a while, so the least I can do is walk the whole damn 5K. Besides, I will have earned my celebratory beer afterwards by doing the 3.1 miles.

Dining out and how I refrained from being a jerk! I had an unexpected dinner offer last night and found myself at an unfamiliar restaurant, staring at unfamiliar food. I had already pre-planned my dinner in eTools, so I wasn't even sure how many points I had to play with (normally I would have logged on quickly to see how many I had left, but they were all taken and I was in a hurry). That probably makes no sense. Anyway, I managed to go only three points above my dailies. I got a Tuscan Salad, which had spinach, blue cheese, candied walnuts, raisins, mandarin oranges, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. And I added shrimp to it. The salad came out with 17 small shrimp. Seventeen! Damn. I pushed 7 to the side, so I only ate 10. Then I divided up my candied walnuts so I only ate half, which was about one Tablespoon. I also slid some of the raisins out of the way, because I'm not big on raisins. AND, I got a cup of French onion soup. I forgot it came with tons of cheese, so I gave my friend most of my cheese and about half of the bread in the soup.

Afterward, we went next door to sit outside Serendipity Tea Room, which was closed, while we workshopped some poems. We were out there so long the owner brought us out two bowls of ice cream and two mini chicken salad sandwiches. They were fantastic.

The night before that, I went to dinner with Hannah and my sister. I am happy to report that I controlled myself there too. So it's been a pretty successful restaurant week for me, my friend(s).

The after effects of my first 5K! The two days following my 5K were pretty painful. I had a sharp pain/dull ache in the middle of my right ass cheek. It affected my hip, knee, and foot. I got out of bed in the middle of the night and thought I was going to fall down, the pain was so bad. But after two days, the pain faded and I was left with the general ache of over-worked muscles. Sara Rabbit caught me in the middle of this when she asked me to do the 5K, and it was that pain that contributed to my hesitation. But the pain is gone and I'm getting pumped for my next 5K!

As for exercise, I did 40 minutes of swimming yesterday and signed up for the spinning class again on Friday. Saturday I'm going to the gym to walk/jog on the treadmill for a bit and I am going to be sure to get in 3.1 miles. I want to be a little more prepared for this next 5K. And Sunday, if all goes well, Clay and I are going for a quick bike ride before we head to my parents' house. He got new wheels and tires for his bike and is anxious to test them out.

I did something different for tonight's picture. I paired my current self (on the right) with my former self when I first joined Weight Watchers (on the left). Wow! Even my mom was impressed. Now, my former self looks to be a giant, but I am just standing a little closer to the camera. 

Weight Loss This Week: 2.8 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 21.8 pounds