Two steps forward, one step humbled...

Today, I headed into the weekend of week six of training, which is my long run and long bike ride. With me being in Ann Arbor, I made today my long run day, and tomorrow, when I return, it will be my long bike ride. 

I got out the door of the hotel for my run around 9 am, and it was around 70F, not too hot for a long run. If you want to call a 65-minute long run. 

The moment I started running, I felt like I was running with cement shoes. My legs had no strength, and I couldn't find a good out-and-back route. I like out-and-back runs because you don't have to think after you turn back around. You know when the run is going to end without having to fixate on your watch.

In this case, all the sidewalks seemed to end or nonexistent on my run. So I had to run in circles and loops and keep my eye on the time the entire time, and as time went on, it got hotter. This run had a lot of walking to keep my heart rate down. As much as I should be happy that I had no calf issue, based on the quality of this run and my muscle soreness, I'm not sure I will be in good enough shape for the half Ironman. 

During and after this run, I've come to realize that what I am in my mind is not what I see with my eyes. In my mind, I'm back feeling like an athlete. In the mirror, when I look closely or when I see my reflection in a window, I see an overweight older guy. 

As I ran, I kept reminding myself I was still at least 230 lbs. Even though I lost 7 lbs in the first month, I'm only a little over a week into the second month, and if I lost even 2 lbs in this period, I'd still be 231 lbs. That's still 41 lbs of extra weight I'm carrying, and I need to remember that. Then, as I remind myself of that, I question whether I'll be able to get it down in time for the race. 

It is the strangest feeling I've ever experienced. I'm as sore as I was during Ironman training at my peak, and I don't even feel fat, but when I look at my gut, it doesn't lie. I have a long way to go. 

My biggest question is whether I should give myself another rest day to let my body recover or postpone tomorrow's long bike ride. 

Diet-wise, I'm doing as well as I can. We are out of town and eating at restaurants, but I'm trying to eat as healthy as possible. For breakfast, after my run, I had oatmeal. We went to Chilli's for lunch today, and nothing looked healthy on the menu, so I just ordered unbreaded wings with no sauce. It could be better, but it's protein. It was a pork chop, Caesar salad, and a couple of banana bread pudding scoops for dinner. 

If there was one word to describe today, it would be "Walking." We did a lot of walking. We went to the Henry Ford Museum and the Michigan Wolverines Football game. In total, we walked about 5 - 6 more kilometers.

It was Michigan's home opener, and we had great seats, row A, right at the front. I purposely decided on those tickets because I know that at college football games, there is no guarantee you will be sitting. If the person in front of you starts standing, you have to stand. If you are at the front, you can sit. My choice was all about trying to be comfortable while watching the game. 

If it worked, we got to sit on a hard steal bench the entire time. The upside was it was like training my butt, similar to riding on a bike seat, and I had to be almost in an area position to watch the game. My neck was cracking like crazy, and I thought this could be my breakthrough moment. My neck was getting better prepared to stay in the aero position. When I finally did stand, my legs were so stiff. 

Again, I feel like an athlete wrapped in a fat guy's body, I still have a very long way to go and keep needing to remind myself of that. 

Run - 1:03:55 - 8.06 km / 7:56 per km Avg

Walk - 50:50  - 2.5 km

Walk - 18:32 - 1.74 km to car to game

Walk - 18:32 - 1.74 km from game to car