So I am officially an athlete. Or at least that's what my resting heart rate says. I went for my first physical in 1.5 years. Dr. Pitt was hilarious. He's the busiest doctor I know and every time I see him I have to wait for at least an hour before I even make it into the examination room. From the examination room, it's another 20 minute wait. So anyway, he starts talking to me about my lifestyle and spends a good 15 minutes just shooting the shit with me even though he's got a ton of people waiting for him. Then he finally gets onto my physical and just for giggles, he compares my last physical to this physical. In June 2011 I weighed 292 pounds and had a resting heart rate of 80 beats per minute. This physical I weighed 172 and had a resting hear rate of 50 BPM. Dr. Pitt was floored because he said not only do I have the heart rate of a VERY fit person, but that an Olympic runner would have a resting heart rate of 35 - 40 BPM. He was incredibly impressed and said that I added years to my life and I was in great shape. I felt fantastic after seeing Dr. Pitt and wanted to do nothing more than go for a run afterwards. So I did.
A resting heart rate of 80 BPM is BAD. That just goes to show how incredibly hard my heart had to work to accommodate my size. That and I was completely inactive. Before I started running in March 2012 (I took a Learn to Run clinic through the Running Room), I never did any form of exercise and even walking up a flight of stairs winded me. I hated exercise. Even though running was hard when I first started, and I wanted to give up several times, I promised myself that I would stick it out the duration of my Learn to Run clinic and by the end of the clinic, I was hooked. I have never felt better in my life.
Last night was the last Learn to Run clinic that Beverly and I will be instructing for a while. Perhaps we will re-group in the spring and look at teaching another clinic, but we are both on hiatus for the time being. Beverly for a medical leave, me for running. I'm going to focus on my own running for the next few months and train for a half marathon at the beginning of March. The very down side to giving up the clinic instruction, besides the great people I get to meet and support, is the employee discount I get. I used my employee discount for the last time today and bought a new pair of shoes to last me until the spring. Super Nova Glide 4 Adidas! They are black which I love, and glow in the dark on the toes and heels and tongue. Now I have three pairs of shoes to rotate, so I think I'm good until the spring.
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| Looks like there are lights on my shoes! |
I know I shouldn't complain, but there are a few things about my new body that I find troublesome. Things I have never had to deal with before. First off, my ass is bony and I can't sit on hard surfaces for too long without getting uncomfortable. Even as I sit here and write this post, I can feel the bones on my but digging into the padded chair I'm sitting in. I guess it will take some getting used to. Secondly, shaving my legs and arm pits is something I must relearn. I cannot do it without injuring myself. My knees and ankles are too bony and I always slice off a piece of skin. Makes me wince just writing that. Don't even get me started on the concave arm pits! How do normal people shave their arm pits? I can't get a good shave because my arm pit is now too hollow to get a close shave. Who knew that these issues would plague me? I have skinny ankles, knees, ass and arm pits but pretty fat calves still. Where's the justice in that? I still can't wear normal width knee high boots because they won't zip to the top. And I can only wear boot cut "skinny" jeans because the calf area is too tight. I'd gladly give up an inch around my calf and stick it back in my arm pit. Or even on my ass. Maybe this is why butt implants are growing in popularity. Skinny assess need padding too!
I promise to catch up on blog reading over the next couple of days. I've been a very bad blog friend. I haven't been commenting which makes me feel bad because people are struggling. This is not an easy time of year. Try to keep in mind how far you've come, or focus on where you have to go. It's not worth it to go backwards. I'm staying focused this holiday season. I'm not going to eat any different than I am right now. I have learned that food is not my main source of entertainment. I still love me some slow cooker roast with winter veggies, but I know that holiday sweets and treats will send me into a downward spiral that I may have a hard time digging myself out of. Can't imagine what that would do to my running performance either. And I don't want to find out. I'm tuned to peak performance now. If I keep giving myself the right kind of fuel, I'll continue to improve and I'm excited to see where I'll be a year from now. Running a marathon or die trying!
