The following is a repost from my blog at www.icanrunaminute.com

I didn't end up weighing in until last night but was still in the 230s which is pretty cool.  Recalculating my average weight for the month puts me at 239 (rounded).  That's not quite as cool and I'd rather have a 238 average.  Of course, had I weighed myself in the morning when I first woke up I know I would have weighed less than the 238.8 so, the reality in spite of the scale reading is probably still an average of no more than 238.  I would like to end this month averaging no more than 238 which represents a 4 lb reduction over last month's average.  I'm good with that.  the 230s and numbers I'm dealing with now are numbers my mind isn't wholly used to.  But, I'll get used to them. :)

2015 Wallpaper 02 - 2015

This is where data is helpful for adhering to reality.  A 238 average isn't just a new low or only 4 lbs down from the month before but it is also a 10 lb reduction from the months of May & June and that's good, solid progress.  

Looking Forward - 

I've signed up for 5 more DietBets on DietBet.com.  Two of which will take me through February of next year with a goal weight of 222 lbs.  That weight will match my bench press competition weight from around 2001, so that will be turning the clocks back about 15 years.  A longer term HealthyWage.com bet is slated to end on July 5th of 2016 with a goal weight of 212 lbs.  I'm not sure how far back that rolls the clock but I know my high school or teenage years weight was around 195 to 205 so, 212 lbs pushes the clock back pretty far.  

Running - 

Most immediately, I leave for Iowa Falls, Iowa today and will run a half marathon in Iowa tomorrow, meet with family in St Cloud, Minnesota after that run then complete a 2nd half marathon on Sunday in Woodbury, Minnesota which will knock off two more states.  I want to "level up" with a group called the Half Fanatics and the easiest way I can do that is by completing as many half marathons in as many different states in a trailing 365 day time period.  I've learned the full marathons I've completed earlier this year in West Virginia and Tennessee don't count for the Half Fanatics so I'll have to redo my map a little bit.  I'm thinking of keeping that map in an album on Facebook where I can update with additional maps as I complete each new state.  I know 30 states is needed to reach the highest level in the Half Fanatics.

Two half marathons in two days puts me at the Jupiter level.  The higher the level, the closer you get to the Sun level.  By doing halfs in different states the following numbers are needed

  • Mars - 13 Half Marathons in 13 different states in 365 days
  • Earth - 16 Half Marathons in 16 different states in 365 days
  • Venus - 20 Half Marathons in 20 different states in 365 days
  • Mercury - 23 Half Marathons in 23 different states in 365 days
  • The Sun - 30 Half Marathons in 30 different states in 365 days

I have learned that DC counts as a state for leveling up and, offhand, I know I'll have Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Indiana and Tennessee ...that puts me at 9 states.  There is a small amount of jostling still needed to pull off those 9 states but I'm already registered for runs in all those states except New Jersey.  I'll be updating Missouri and Illinois with new upcoming runs that I'm already registered for this year.

Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana are do-able in April of 2016 as a three day series - 3 halfs in 3 days in 3 states which would bring me up to 12 states.  The biggie is still the New England series which is in May of 2016 which would knock out 7 states in 7 days.  Indiana would be the 7th state and is already counted but I would also be able to knock out 6 new states - namely Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island thus bringing my total up to 18 states.  

I have no idea how to pull that all off.  no idea.  But, that's part of the appeal.  Something new.  Something challenging and I'm sure I'll come up with answers and solutions as time goes by.  For now, I have a bit of direction.  Maybe I'll keep a current map in my Running Log tab and ongoing maps in a Facebook album.  

Mileage goals are still 117 for this month of August with 10 mile increases in my monthly mileage goal for ever month through the rest of this year.  Again, I really have no idea exactly how to do all that and it's more than just a little bit intimidating to me.  I am working with a running coach from California so maybe together we can figure something out.   

For now, I'm bringing Hope & Desire to the table.  ...beyond that I'm just curious to see what this enthusiastic novice runner can accomplish :)

Oh - as of yesterday, this blog update also comes with my completion of 50 straight days of running.  During that running streak I've covered 157.75 miles which averages out to a little better than a 5K per day with 3.155 miles per day, on average. :)  After this weekend, that average will be up to 3.4 miles :)