Scott William
12-10-05 SURGERY DAY
I went in on Friday, 12-9-05 at 5:30am. My Ex-Wife took me. What a
sweet heart. Anyway, it had just started to snow on the way there and it
was kind of nice to think how much I did not care about the snow
because I was not going anywhere for a few days. Of course I was concerned
about travel conditions for my loved ones. Anyway, we got there and I
was admitted and taken to a room for all of my preliminary questions and
tests. They took blood and started an IV. They asked all sorts of
questions about my health and particular conditions, most of which I had
been asked before at other appointments. We also quickly learned that I
was with my "wife" and not ex because it made everything easier. After
the preliminaries were complete, I waited until about 6:45 and they
took me to a surgery waiting room. My ex had all of my belongings and it
was prior to entering the surgery waiting room that I would see my ex
until after surgery. I gave her a nice kiss and told her I love her.
She said the same. I took my parking spot in the waiting room next to a
man who I would later find out was having brain surgery and an older
man who was apparantly very farmiliar with the surgical department. The
anestatist (pardon the spelling) came in and briefed me about the
procedure and I mentioned to her that I had possible sleep apnea which she
knew (I had the study done but the results were not in yet.) Before
long I was wheeled into a surgical room. My doctor was there along with a
few other assorted people. I made some stupid jokes, moved to the
surgical table and before I knew it, I was in recovery. I had a tube in my
throat which was the worst part of the entire process. You cant talk
with it in so it feels wierd to not be able to communicate. This is
when the bed I was in stopped working. The upper part started to recline
back from a fairly comfortable upright position to flat. There was no
way to get the attention of anyone. Finally, I decided to raise my
foot and shake my toe. That did not work. With the drugs, I had no sence
of time so I have no idea of how long I was like that but I would guess
a few minutes total. They had a maintenance guy come and check out the
bed and he fixed to temporarily. A short while later the bed collapsed
again and they got me a new one. I do not know why but they were
debating taking the tube out before they moved me. They did take it out and
it was a relief and misery all at once. Now I could talk but I could
not talk because the tube had made my throat raspy and I could not get
anything out. That only lasted a few minutes. There was also a lot of
nasty stuff that came out and I wanted to spit, which I did. It also
felt like it dislodged one of my tonsils. It seemed to just kind of
hang in the back of my throat. Shortly thereafter, my ex and father who
was stopping by on his way to Maine came in to visit. I must say that
it was great to see some friendly faces. We talked a little and my dad
made some joked about pizza that would have gotten him killed had I
been able to get up. They left and eventually the staff wheeled me up to
Verdi West for the balance of my recovery time.
This picture was taken outside the stadium of the Army-Navy football
game on Dec 3, 2005. I was offered a Dec 2 surgery date but pushed it
back because of the game. It is not important who won the game because
Army lost. I am flanked by my brothers; Daryl on the laft and Dave on
the right. I swear that I did not have two cheese steaks in
Philidelphia that weekend -- I swear!
12-14-05 RECOVERY
I was wheeled into a room with another spainsh speaking man. He seemed
like a nice guy but my first day there I was not in the mood to really
talk to anyone. Oh yeah, he also spoke english but all his visitors
spoke spanish. He was gone by the time I felt like being social.
Anyway, when I first got there, I had a cathater , a pain pump in my stomach,
a drain on my right side and IV's in both arms. Add to that boots
around both legs and you are pretty immobile. It was kind of nice to not
have to get up and use that bathroom. The first night the nurse came in
and made me get up and walk. We did one lap around the nurses station
and that was good for me. That night was awful. I literally remember
seeing the clock every thirty minutes all night long. With the nurses
in and out, taking vitals, finger pricks, new IV's, meds... what a long
night. The next day since I was so tired was kind of like the night
before, sleep interupted by all that stuff. Let me also tell you how bad
the TV was. We got the four networks and that was it. Saturday
morning I went for my GI test and it was pertty cool. You stand up against
what looks like an ex-ray machine and they have you drink a fluid that
you can see on the tv. You can watch the fluid enter your stomach and
work its way through. It was cool. Anyway, I started the stage one
diet after Dr. Valin reviewed the footage and determined that I was OK to
start. Chicken broth and jello never tasted so good. I went for a few
walks that day and my ex and kid came to see me. He was 3 and 3/4 at
the time. He would not come over to me but did not seem to worried
either. Of course I understood his hesitance due to all the wires and
such. I was not much of a host on that first day, I was sleepy and groggy.
That was also the day that I got my cathater out. What a relief that
was. Everything that comes out gives you more freedom and that was a
big one. Sunday, I lost the pain pump. It is not really a pump but a
ball full of drugs that attach to the incision. That also hindered my
mobility. By Sunday, they were done using the IV in my right arm so by
now all I had to do to get up was to disconnect the left are IV from the
wall and take it with me. That was a nice feeling to be able to move
at my discression. About half way through the day I started my stage
one diet. One ounce of water per hour. I had more visitors that day
including my in laws and my dad stopped by for the Giant game on TV. It
was nice to see them all and I felt like a better host because I was
more alert and could get up fairly easily, not that they expected a great
host. Saturday nights sleep was better that Fridays but Sundays was
the best. By Sunday night I was a veteran. I did not need all the tests
or meds that I needed the first night and I only had the drain in me to
hinder my mobility, which it did not. Monday I was going home. I took
a shower in the morning and the doctor pulled the drain out in the
early afternoon. My ex arrived to pick me up with my son. I finally got a
kiss. -- the kid not the ex. This was where the most frustration of
the stay was. Once I was released, it took one hour for the escort with
the chair to come and wheel me out. After being there that long the
last thing you want to do is wait for an escort out. But alas, away we
went.
12-17-05 THE NURSING STAFF
First of all, young, female and attractive come to mind but beyond that
professional, caring, kind. They, without exception, were awesome. I
am not the kind of person to ask for help so I might not be a good
barometer however, I know that my second roommate was. He was the most
needy, complaining, whiner I ever met. There was literally not one time
that someone entered the room that he did not ask them to do something.
Without fail, they did it every time with a smile. I was really
impressed with the nursing staff.
12-19-05 RECOVERING AT HOME
My ex-wife took me home from the hospital and let (insisted) that I
stay with her for a time. My first plan was to stay with her on Monday
and Tuesday nights and go home on Wednesday. After trying to drive on
one of those days, It was apparant that the right thing to do would be
stay a few more days. I stayed until Friday. While I was there I felt
great. There was no incision pain and getting the routine of vitimins,
water, protine down was not hard either. What was difficult was the
head hunger and awful cravings that I was experiencing at night. I kept
thinking, OK, now is when I order the pizza or chinese. All I could
think about in the evening was stuffing my face with pizza. This was
probably because I was also hungry for most of the first two days. That
was when I re-read my nutritional packet and realized that I could eat
strained cream of mushroom soup. It was not easy to strain but the
effort was well worth it. I got strained and heated it in the microwave
and ate maybe a 1/4 of 1/2 cup and sat back in my chair like I had just
eaten a thanksgiving diner. The rest of that night I did not have the
cravings that I had on the previous two nights. On friday (7 days after
surgery) I came home to my house and have not done much since. As of
this writing I have 4 days until my first post-op with staple removal
and stage promotion. I can't say that I'm excited except that it gets me
closer to eating real food someday.
12-23-05 FIRST POST OP DR VISIT
I arrived at 10:00am and was in quickly. The staff quickly took my
vitals. Everything was normal. In the 2 weeks since surgery I have lost
20 pounds. 37 total in the last month with the ketosis diet and the
1000 calorie a day diet. I can now progress to the puree stage and I am
actually excited. The nurse did say that I had my surgery at a bad
time of year with the holidays. I must say that I agree. It has been
psychologically tough but by next year I will be able to sit and eat with
the family. I have no intention of sitting at a table full of food
this year. I did have some family members who wanted to alter the
traditional dinner on my account. I refused because my decision to do this
should not affect anyone else.
1-3-05 FIRST DAY BACK TO WORK / JOINED A GYM!
On December 31, 05 I went and joined a gym. I have actually wanted to
do it for a long time but I am cheap. I don't even have a cell phone.
I know: I'm the one. Anyway, after about three weeks post-op, I had
the same cash in my wallet that I had before surgery. It was 13 dollars.
Pre-op that would have been two McDonalds trips or one pizza. I figure
that the money that I will save on that type of food could pay for a
lifetime membership in about a year. Anyway, I joined a gym. When I was
in high school I worked out a lot. I was an all-state football player
and track athlete. In college I was on the track team and worked out
often. After college I did not touch a weight and rarely a treadmill.
I have missed it and I'm excited to be back. I have been four days now
and I still can't lift so I stretch and walk on the treadmill. Then I
go stare at the weights like an idiot and kind of miander around the
free weight room. Another four weeks and I will start a light regiment
and go from there. I separated my sholder in june of 04 during an ATV
accident. I will have to see what my limitations are from that and work
around/through/over/under/whatever it.
I go back to work in about an hour. I am kind of nervous because I am
not sure they got my paperwork permitting me back. Also, my face has
really thinned out and I don't want it to be a big deal. My gut has
also gotten smaller but not like my face. I was sent back with no
restrictions but I can't see trying to break up a fight (correction officer)
when I can't even shovel my driveway. I guess we shall see. By the
way, For the next 6 weeks I have a limited inmate contact post so I don't
expect it to be an issue. My next Dr. appointment is Jan 9 and I can't
wait to see the weight.
1-5-06 PUTTING UNIFORM ON FIRST TIME POST-OP
When I went to put on my uniform for the first time it was hanging off
of me. My sholders looked smaller and I actually looked kind of dumpy
with all the extra shirt. Even though I have shirts that will fit
better, I will wear these for a while just for fun. Funny thing is that it
had only been 3 1/2 weeks since surgery.
1-9-06 ONE MONTH POST-OP APPT
Back to New Haven for my 1 month post-op appointment today. I got
yelled at for not bringing my son. After the way he acted during my last
pre-op I'm surprised that he was not banned from the office. Anyway, I
got on the scale and it read 323.6. At first I was a little
disapointed because I thought that it might be more. After thinking about it for
a minute, it is a pound a day and I only started exercising about half
way between that apt and my previous. The staff seemed pleased so I am
too. My blood pressure was 123/82. That has always been my best
barometer of health. When I am lighter and in better shape I have had great
BP. That number is much better than it has been in a few years. The
rest of my staples were taken out which was quite a relief. Every time
I would press them they hurt. Now I can lean on my desk with no pain.
I was told that the ozing from my stomach is normal and should stop
fairly soon. That is good because I am running out of spray-and-wash.
Lastly, I asked about working out. She told me that in two weeks I can
but to start light. She okayed my to use 10lb dumbells now. Lets be
honest here, even though my lifting philosophy has changed since my early
20's, I will not be caught dead with 10lb dumbells. I will give it the
two weeks and start very slow but no 10 pounders. I think that I am
going to take some pictures tonight to see if I can see the difference.
I am sure that I will.
1-19-2006
I can start lifting today. This is my six week post-op anniv. I am
not sure if I will lift or not. I don't feel like I'm ready even though
I was given the okay. One thing I have learned in my job is to trust
my instinct. If I dont feel I'm ready, I'm probably not. I have a
lifetime to lift so maybe another two weeks isnt so bad. I will keep
hitting the treadmill and get my cardio back. The last thing I want to do
is mess up my insides due to something preventable.
1-22-2006 THINGS I"M PROUD OF
I have a few minutes before work and I have been thinking of some stuff
that I am proud of.
1. I have gone seven weeks without fast food.
2. I was proud of the fact I have not dumped untill I found out the
majority of people don't dump. Instead I am proud of the fact that I
have no idea if sugar will make me dump. I have not had that since
surgery.
3. I am proud that I have joined a gym and enjoy going.
4. I am proud that my focus has turned more from being thin to being
more healthy.
5. I am proud of my answer to my son when he said to me, "dad, how do
boogers get in my nose". Not really - just had to document that
question somewhere.
6. I have not consumed any soda in about eight weeks.
2-3-2006 SLIGHTLY UPSET WITH LIFTING
I have been starting to lift heavier weights lately. I didn't say
heavy, I said heavier. The other day I warmed up on the bench press with
the bar and my shoulder hurt very badly. I am not sure if I mentioned
it before but I crashed my ATV in June of '04 and I separated the AC
joint in my right shoulder. I also bruised my ribs but that seems to have
healed just fine. Anyway, the shoulder separation was a level 3
separation which is the worst. To put in laymans terms, I have no ligament
attaching my sholder to my clavical. It was a joint decision by the
surgeon and me that we would not opperate because the chance for complete
success was not very high due to my size. Also, I did not have enough
time to take off from work. He said that "unless you are an elite
thrower I would not worry about it". The problem is that even though I
would not use the word elite, I am a thrower and I will always be a
thrower. I am my high school record holder in the discus and was a
conference champion in college as well as a two time runner-up. Part of me says
get over it and another part just wants to compete. It has been in my
blood since I was about 15 years old.
I can coach, I could find another event, I could even officiate but I
just want to throw. I guess we will see in the spring how it goes but
if the bench press were any indication there might be a world of
disappointment comming my way. It is a different motion than the shot put
which I know is out so I guess we will see.
2-9-2006 NICE MOMENT (I CAN'T SAY WOW MOMENT)
My son is having his fourth birthday party in a few days and my place
is a mess. My roommate got called to active duty and left me to deal
with all his shit. He is in the process of building a house right behind
mine. The house is done enough that I could move some stuff to his
house and out of mine. I wanted to clean out the sun room for the party
and all his weight equipment was in there. On day one I took 21 trips
out of my house to my van, drove about 300 yards to his house, (it was
two van trips) went down his basement stairs to the back of his
basement. This was while carrying dumbells up to 70 pounds each and 45 pound
plates. This would not have happened prior to surgery. I would have
done it but there would have been more pain involved and it would have
taken a lot longer. Today I took the smith machine apart and brought
that up along with the bench and some other assorted equipment. I can
work for longer periods of time and don't get tired or winded. Isn't life
grand. I am looking forward to all the projects that I have doubted
would get finished or started for that matter. The big landscaping
projects like stone walls and clearing some land.
FEBRUARY 13, 2006 TWO MONTH CHECK UP / WEIGH IN
I went to New Haven today for my two month check up. Today was a quick
one. Dr. Valin checked me over and checked for a hernia. He asked if
I lift anything heavy and I said "yes". He told me to be careful and
warned me of hernia problems. The atmosphere in the office was great
today. Everyone was happy and outgoing, kind of. It was just a good
visit. My next is in June some time. Well the weigh in did not go as I
planned. My overall goal is 225 but I had set a sub goal of getting
under 300 from my last weigh in of 323.6. Today I weighed in at 302.6. I
was annoyed a little but I still lost 21 pounds in a month.
FEBRUARY 13, 2006 NOW STARTS THE HARD PART.
Well it is setting in that the great days of eating carefully on
instinct are fading away. Now it is becomming apparant that the real work
begins now. Now I have to carefully monitor what I eat and hopefully I
can keep the good habbits that I have formed rolling. I have found out
that I can tolerate anything that I eat and I can eat enough now to
"beat" the surgery if I am not careful. So far I feel good about my
chances. I have to keep it simple. Protein - water - vitamins - exercise.
Sounds simple, right. I also have to fight the Fast Food demond which
I have been succesful at so far. I never want to get into the FF rut I
allowed myself to get into Pre-op. Off to work I go.
FEBRUARY 15, 2006 FIRST SUPPORT GROUP MEETING
I went last night and unfortunately I could not stay for the whole
thing because I had to get to work. But I was happy that I went. I needed
the ice breaker so it will be easier next time. We did some basic yoga
exercises. I want to make support froup meetings one of those habbit
things. People who attend support group meetings have more success
than..........we get the rest. Anyway, it was a positive experience and I
will be back noxt month.
FEBRUARY 24, 2006 FIRST SETBACK
Yesterday, I woke up with some soreness in my left heel. Nothing bad
enough to matter much. I went to the gym as usual and walked for a half
an hour figuring it would work itsself out. It got worse after I
finished and by the time I went to work it was really bothering me. It
feels about the same today as it did yesterday. My options are to reduce
my calorie intake by about 280 a day to make up for the lack of exercise
or ride the stationary bike at the gym which I really hate. Hopefully
it won't be an issue at the start of next week so I can get back at it.
I think I will have to suck it up and hit the bike because I am a
little scared of getting out of the gym routine. Perhaps, I could have
titled this MINOR SETBACK.
As far as my other gym rants about shoulders and other problems, they
seem to be improving. I can't do a bench press but I can do incline
dumbell presses and they have a hammer strength machine that I can
successfully do a bench press like motion. I feel pretty good about it.
Also, at work the other night I did some simulated turns for the hammer
throw and felt really fast. As I thought about it, I am about 15-20
pounds lighter than I was in college. I should be faster! Hopefully the
shoulder can hold up to the force of the hammer because I would like to
throw it around a little.
February 26, 2006 AWESOME DAY
Yesterday, I decided that I was going to burn a portion of a brush pile
that I have in my front yard. The pile is about 60 feet long by 20
feet wide and about 8 feet high at its highest point. The thing is huge.
When my roommate owned this property he used this yard as the dumping
area for all of his trees that were taken down to clear land to build
his house. Little by little people have picked through it taking the
good burning wood and leaving the brush. There is still good wood in it
but now that I own this property it is time for the pile to go. The
contractor for building his house is doing the yard (now a muddy mess) in
about a month and I need to get the pile out of there.
Anyway, that is the build up to yesterday. A woke up at 8:30 and did
all of my prep work like thawing hoses, getting lighter fluid, preping
the chainsaw and other nusience stuff. At 9:50 I called the town
dispatch and informed them that I was going to burn. I started at 10:00am.
I got about 20% of the remaining pile burning really well and kept
stocking it with wood from other parts of the pile. It was really
physically demanding work. At 1:00 in the afternoon I took a break and looked
at this ugly tree that overhangs my property. Since I dont have much
experience taking down trees I was a little apprehensive about it but It
was really leaning the way I wanted it to fall so I said what the heck.
Lets take it down. It fell perfectly and I started cutting branched
off and burning them. The fire was extremely hot and they burned with no
problem. After the brush from the tree was burned, I started cutting
up the tree for a buddy who will use it as fire wood. The cool part is
that I finished it. By 3:00pm I was in the shower and the tree was cut
and piled. Two hours to dismantel this tree to nothing. I could not
believe it. Three months ago, what I did yesterday would have taken at
least three days and would have involved more pain. (this sounds like
my carrying weights post) I take great pride in my accomplishment
yesterday.
March 9, 2006 THREE MONTH POST-OP PIC AND UPDATE
I put in the three month updated photo. In my opinion, it is the
biggest jump in contrast yet. They are all fairly amazing and while I know
that each is a big jump, in my mind I can't believe how big the jump
was from two months to three months. I made an appointment with the
nutritionist (nut is what the cool people call them). I want to find out
where I am headed now. In these three months I have learned a ton about
nutrituion and have put into action some new habbits. I have been
trying to keep my body in a state of ketosis for the early part of this
journey. It is about time that I start moving from all protein to a more
balanced diet and this is what I want help with. Her office is in my
surgeons office and I will use their scale to weigh myself on that day.
I think it is the 21st of March. My goal on that day is 280 lbs but to
be honest, I think that I am already there or close to it. Yesterday
was my monday at work (I work a 5 days on and three off schedule). I
put on my 2xl shirt and got a million compliments about my loss.
Actually it was at the point of being annoying. I feel mean saying that but
it gets old. I appreciate everyone's support and let them know when
they ask a question or make a comment. I am also finding that wearing
clothes that fit make me look better than the loose clothing that I like
to wear.
March 17, 2006 PRIMARY CARE APT AND FART's
First of all a fart is the new term for WOW moment. We men got
together on the Men's Board and changed the title.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/men/postdetail/11996.html?vc=0 Here
is the discussion. Anyway, the FART moments that I refer to are 1. My
resting heart rate was 59 the other night at work. Pre-op it was in
the high 70's. 2. Today by BP was 104/70. Pre-op it was as high as
140/95. 3. I put on a size 38" jean today and they fit. They were easy to
button. I laughed when they were given to me. "I'll never wear
those", I said.
There is a bad thing. I just ate a slice of chicken way too fast and I
would really like to throw up. I was excited to write my FART's and
subsequently ate quickly. You live and learn.
March 21, 2006 NUTRITIONIST APT AND WEIGH IN
First of all 277! That was my first weigh in, in about six weeks. I
made the apointment partly so that I could weigh myself on the
"official" scale. 98 lbs in 3 1/2 months.
During the appointment, we talked about protein, carbs and calories.
We also touched on other topics. I would like to think that in the four
of five months that I researching, preparing and post-op, that I have
some knowledge about the diet. She confirmed that I do have a clue and
my diet and vitamin intake are good. She told me that I could start to
deversify my diet to include fruits and vegetables. Surprisingly, I am
looking forward to it. She also confirmed that my opinion on scales
for a new post-op is good. Overall, the appointment was positive and
left me feeling pretty good about where I am at this stage of my
post-opedness. On a sad note I attended the wake of a high school friend today.
He died suddenly while playing basketball. The up side to the story is
that none of my clothes fit and I looked like a dirt bag.
MARCH 31, 2006 AWESOME GYM MOMENT
Today at the gym, I was walking at 4.4 mph which is a fast clip. At 20
minutes I felt great and decided to jog a little and went to 5.5 mph.
Not very fast by running standards. After 10 minutes of that, I went
to 6.5 mph and stayed there for 5 minutes and that was some work but
again not fast by running standards but certainly fast by fat guy
standards. When I finally looked at the clock and saw that I was just shy of 3
miles and still felt alright, I kept jogging and fifished my first 5K.
3.1 miles. It took about 37 minutes but I was not even aware that I
was racing myself until about 20 minutes in. I have never run that far
in my life - eventhough half of it was walking. I am counting it!
APRIL 22, 2006 NOTHING NEW REALLY
Since my last post, not much has changed. I have had my best week at
the gym this week as a post-op. 15 miles on the treadmill. weight
lifting is going well. I can see my muscles getting bigger, perhaps, huger
would be more accurate if it were a word, or enormouser. I think that
I am in the 260 range because my gym scale says 240 and has been about
20 lbs light for me. I still do not have a scale. I will get one for
my June appointment to see how it matches with the Dr's. I am still
moving rocks and intend to start the wall as soon as my yard gets leveled
off and looks like a yard which should be in about a month. This is a
pretty uninspired post but I just worked a double. Actually, now that
I think of it, the inmates saw me for the first time this week since
the surgery. Not that I put any stock in their opinions but I have had
perhaps 20-25 positive interactions with them about it. The first time
I walked in a dorm, I was leaving and I heard "holy shit man, that is
him". I turned around and this guy was looking at me with a stunned
look on his face. I played it cool with a "how you doin man", and
proceeded to walk through the door with the biggest smile you have ever seen
on my face. Other than that, I am busy planning a family trip to Disney
and can't wait to go there as a normal person. Not that I have ever
had a problem there but being heavy is a problem everywhere. Oh yeah, I
have decided that I will have the plastics if I need it. I will be 31
or 32 when it is time to make that decision and will hopefully have 50
or more years left. It would be worth the investment. I have to pay
off some personal debts first but with all the overtime I have the
energy to work, that should be no problem. See ya
MAY 1, 2006 ANOTHER NICE GYM MOMENT / WEIGH IN
Today I ran my treadmill 5K in 28:53. I was pretty excited and
sometimes I show it with a little fist pump or something similar. People must
think I'm nuts. I also forgot to report that I went to Dr. Valin's
office last week on my way to New York and weighed myself. The scale read
256.5 (i'm rounding down). Even a few of the office staff looked
surprised. When people who work in the weight loss industry and see WLS
parients everyday are surprised at how much you have lost, you must be
doing something right. I also got a picture with Deborah Valin.
MAY 20, 2006 UPDATE ON NOTHING
The last two days I have worked doubles (16 hour shifts). The best case senario when that happens is about 5 1/2 hours sleep. Well, I thought about it the night before and decided that a nice jog in the morning will benefit me more than the extra half hour of sleep. The last two days I have done a lap around the block which is two miles, before work. Definitely a good decision.
I have not been nearly as gung ho about all my outside projects lately. I don't know if my energy is lower than it was or if I just don't feel like it or if I simply "blew my wad" with all I did so early out. I still get out and do stuff but it is not with the get out of bed vigor that I had early on. Doesn't help that it has been raining here for the last month and especially on my days off.
6-3-2006 6 MONTH VISIT AND MORE RUNNING MILESTONES
Yesterday was my six month check-up with Dr.Valin's office. It was another fantastic visit. The receptionist loves Hunter and they had a good time. The insurance guy and I talked Yankees for a minute and even Dr. Valin popped in for a minute (in scrubs so I am assuming that he was between surgeries). Anyway, Mrs. Valin did my evaluation. She checked for a hrenia. None! With all the lifting and rock moving that I have been doing, I was extremely happy and a bit surprised that there was none. She was surprised about the size of my scar (small) and she informed me that I have lost 60% of my excess body weight. If I could only put down the ice cream it would probably be more. I guess one funny thing was that I had to write what I had to eat the day before. The funny part is that I was honest and it was not a good day. Perhaps I should have used a typical day. The list included pizza and ice cream sandwiches and I forget lunch but that was not much better.
She did not seem to care much but I did qualify that it was not a typical day.
That same day, I did a 27:16 5K on the treadmill and today I ran 5 miles. I felt good and had no time restrictions so I went for it. I ran 4 miles at 6.2 mph and backed it down to 5 mph for the last mile. When it looked like I could break 50 minutes for the 5 miles I cranked it up to 6.5 mph for the last 3/10 of a mile. Crossed the line at 50:01 minutes. Oh well, next time. I think that I finally have a goal. On October 8, 2006, Disney will have a 10K that starts at the wideworld of sports and ends at Epcot. The race goes through MGM and Epcot. Being that I am a Disney geek, I think it would be awesome to do it. We are going to be there anyway so the only add expense would be the the $35.00 for the entry fee. How does one take pictures while running a race? We will find out!
June 11, 2006 FIRST ROAD RACE 5K
Today I entered The Classic 5K (3.1 miles). It used to be the Orange Classic but the sponsors pulled out and kept the trademarked name. It was a race that I used to go and watch and wish that I was running but at the time it was only the 10K which was pretty much out of the question. I was not aware that it was going on until I got the newspaper on Saturday and say that the race was Sunday morning. I figured, what the hell. I finished in 41st place out of 167 people. If my math is correct, that is in the to 1/4. I had to pass the high stepper (a few guys called her that as we were passing them and the name really fit) because I could not get beat by a girl with such horrible running form. My time was 27:32 but if I knew where the finish was it could have been better. I have no complaints and my goal was to run the whole thing under 30 minutes and did it easily. If anything it had gotten me jazzed up to run some more races.
On the diet side of things, I really have to cut down on the ice cream.
JUNE 21, 2006 RUNNING AND MORE RUNNING
On Sunday I jogged a 5.6 mile road course. I have no idea what the time was but I do know that I ran the entire thing. It was kind of fun. The wierd thing was that I could have run more. My wind was fine and my legs felt okay. That leads me to today. I ran again but this time it was the 6.5 mile course and with the cool down, I'm calling it a 7 miler. This was great as it really gives me a sense of accomplishment. It is official that I can run a 10K without stopping and this run had some nice hills. The wierd thing about today's run was that mile 3 was horrible. I had no energy and just kind of mosied along. I am figuring out that for me it is 90% mental. If I can defeat my boredom and the part of my brain that says, "you can't do that", who knows what I can accomplish with running.
One thing I do have to consentrate on more is the core strength. That is my second priority after cardio conditioning and for about two weeks, I have been slacking and my back is feeling it.
On the food side of things, I have been a lot better in the week and a half since my last post. Not prefect by any stretch but much better.
July 8, 2006 RUNNING AND FOOD INTAKE
Well, I just got back from a 5.6 mile run and I was very disappionted with myslf during the run because I had to walk. It is the first time that I have walked on one of my runs. Here is the problem. It started at 1:05 pm on a sunny and hot day. I worked a double any it was the only time that I could do it. At about the 4 mile marker without even thinking I just started walking. It was wierd that I did not even discuss it with myself first. Anyway, I walked twice for probably 1/4 to 1/2 mile and finished with a nice jog. Here is the good part. The whole thing even with the walking took under an hour. I think that I started out too fast on a hot day having just worked a double. I guess that I can't be too upset.
Also, the other day I ran my 8 mile route. The only time I stopped there was to piss and another time to pick up $15. It pays to run, literally. That was a good run and took around an hour and a half with the stretching and cool down. I am very close to booking the Disney marathon in Jan 07.
On the food side of things, I have been doing a lot better. I am currently 4 days without ice cream (except fudgecicles, which don't count due to low calories) and have picked up the protein. Overall, I have eaten a lot better in the last few weeks.
Now, why is it that my run today was all up hill but I started and ended in the same place. (I am not kiddnig)! There are like two small down hills and 11 huge inclines. I don't get it???
August 11, 2006 ROAD RACE RESULTS
I ran the New London road race the other day. It is an 11.6 mile race through New London and Waterford. My finishing time was 1:56.07. That is 10:01 per mile. I was going for 10:00 minutes per mile which I find pretty amazing since I had no watch and there were no clocks on the course. 3 seconds faster and I would have done it. My next race will be in a few weeks and most likely be a 5K. I don't really have a time goal but I think sub 25 would be good and not too unrealistic. I am still about a month away from officially starting my marathon traaining. Obviously, I am in training now with all my running but the program that I will go on starts 4 months from the date of the marathon. I am still looking forward to it and again, no time goal, just to finish. However, sub 5 hours would be nice.
SEPT 7, 2006 9 MONTH VISIT
Well the most important thing about the 9 month visit was the weigh-in. Very disappointing. 238.5 was the verdict. That was down 8.5 lbs from that last weigh in.
The new goal is to lose 18.6 lbs by my December 1 year appointment. That will put me under 220 and from there, I can go under 215 for the marathon on Jan 7, 2007. That would be a reasonable weight.
I also officially found out that I do have a small incisonal hernia. She said that as long as there is no pain and it does not get worse, we will leave it alone for now.
Today, I ran 7.5 miles, yesterday, 4.5 and the day before was also 4.5. The end of last month was not great as far as the running goes. I had some big milage days but the frequency was not there. That is why the 3 days in a row now are important to me. It is setting me up for where I want to be. Not much else is going on WLS wise. Every day is a struggle with ice cream. Other than that I do well. I have the occational sweet or cookie but nothing that I regret. The ice cream, I always regret. Today makes 2 days ice cream free. That is it. My success will depend on my ability to control the ice cream.
