My Everything Doth Protest

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. Well, actually I can. Everyday I think about posting and everyday for the last 12 days I've procrastinated and it has not gone well, obviously.

I find that when I'm not getting lots of personal kudos that I tend to procrastinate. I easily lost 20 pounds but am stuck at 23 pounds. I easily ran my way through the first two weeks of C25K but hit trouble during the third. I transitioned from the treadmill to the road and started having pain in my knees. I gave day three of training two more tries and with each attempt "my knees doth protest" even more. Lots of rest, ice, compression, elevation and Advil did not improve my knee pain. So, I've taken a break from training for the last five days.

During my pouting, I mean respite, I went camping. We decided to take Ethel, our 1998 Coleman pop-up, on her maiden 2011 voyage. With rain in the forecast, freezing temperatures and tick warnings we traveled 30 minutes away from our house to Coyote Lake. Saturday morning we set off on a three mile hike along the shore of the lake. One mile down the trail we started seeing ticks on the dogs. We turned around and high-ticked it out of there. Once back at camp we stripped off our clothes and groomed the dogs. We found over 15 ticks. We stayed in the campground for the rest of our walks.

We also invited some friends to join us at our camp site. I decided to bust out my dutch oven and cook lamb stew, perfect for the chilly weather. I've wanted to cook over a camp fire for years but have never been brave enough to try. I had all day Saturday to mess around with the wood, coals and my pot. Actually it's my dutch oven that my Father gave to me when my Grandfather passed away. I grew up watching my Grandma and Grandpa fry fish in this pot. Now I take it camping with me. It was a lot of work but a huge success. Unfortunately, once my friends arrived for dinner I learned they both didn't like lamb. Luckily they brought their own dinner and we all ate very well.

Healthy eating and camping don't mix. When we camp we enjoy the great outdoors with a pop-tart in one hand and a beer in the other. It was very difficult to sit in my lounger gazing out at the lake and wildlife and not munch on something. So much time on my hands. I knew this was going to be an issue so all of the food I brought was healthy; apples, almonds, oranges, flax seed chips, hummus, egg white salad, and salsa. There was no junk food in sight. So whatever and whenever something was in my hand it was healthy. It was difficult, but overall I maintained.

Sunday, we woke up very early, broke camp down quickly, grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks, dropped the camper off at home, showered and headed to an all day volleyball tournament to watch my daughter play. I was tired and very hungry. My resolve for healthy food drained right out of my body. We left the tournament and headed to our favorite Malaysian restaurant for lunch. Thankfully, my partner saved my hips because if it had been up to me, I would have snorted satay sauce and fried bread right up my nose. We ate more than our normal portions but we ate healthy seafood soup, steamed spring rolls, green curry chicken and sauteed vegetables. Throughout the meal, we kept saying that we were not going to eat dinner and that made eating a large and late lunch okay. However, later that night we hit Chipotle and had our normal bowls for dinner.

I learned a few things yesterday. Some days I'm not going to be as vigilant as others. I do have a full point and I want to listen to my full tummy. If I don't listen and continue eating then my brain forgets that I'm full and for the rest of the day I don't feel full. I don't know if that makes since but that's what happened.

This morning I woke up and still do not feel my resolve. I weighed and only gained one pound which helped me feel better about my lack-luster eating choices. I just got back from a six mile hike, which felt really good. I always feel better after a good hike. I am going to try and run again this week. I will definitely hit the gym.