Sun:12
Mon: off
Tue: 10
Wed: 10
Thur: 4
Fri: 8
Sat:13

_________________
"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Busted my ass and had a great week. Lost 2.5 lbs, pretty much all the weight I had gained at last weigh in. Was much stricter on the diet this week, pretty much just ate normal lunch of turkey/chicken chili and for dinner a PB&J sandwich and a protein bar. Skated 4x.

_________________

That's a helluva week. Nice job!

_________________

Ugh. I can't eat protein bars. Nice job on the weight loss.

_________________

I didn't get back to the gym last week and was out of town again this weekend. Already have plans to get straight there tonight after work.
Haven't been since late November. I have maintained my weight somehow so thankful for that and hoping putting some exercise behind keeping
my big mouth closed will induce some results.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

OK, I have now reached my goal of losing 16 lbs before Christmas.

Even after a massive barbecue dinner over the weekend, I'm still down a little more than a pound for the week. Hoping to lose a couple more by Christmas Day.

_________________

i know you probably mentioned it earlier in this thread or in the running thread, but is there a specific event you are training for right now? Next week i start a training block for the Illinois Marathon, I have been hovering in the 25-30 mpw range the last 6 weeks or so. I am looking forward to cranking it up a bit. 57 miles is a great week, nice job!

I gotta get back in gear. Gained a few pounds back in my usual slump when the weather gets colder. Gotta force myself to get some exercise.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Training for a february trip to Cabo Doing my best to prevent the mexican whaling industry from wanting to use me as target practice. Plus the weather has been nice so there was no excuse. Unfortunately work this week has prevented a repeat.

Only event I am signed up for now is a trail 50k in May. But may do the Kenosha marathon.

I have done Illinois three times. Am an Illini alum so perhaps biased but it is fun finishing inside Memorial stadium. I hope you enjoy it.

_________________
"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

I have run the Illinois Marathon 3 times - twice as a member of a relay team, and in 2016 I ran the full. That race kicked my ass, it was my first marathon distance race. This time is a bit of a redemption trip. The finish in the stadium is cool, but I was in no condition to enjoy it last time. I hope this time is much different. Good luck to you on your spring races. I am doing the 30-mile trail event at Potowatomi in early April (pacing a friend, not really racing), the Illinois Marathon at the end of April, and then the 50-mile event at the Hennepin Hundred in October out in Sterling/Rock Falls. Its going to be a fun year.

What kind of running shoes do you ultra long distance competitors wear?

_________________

When it comes to trail shoes, i prefer Nike, specifically the Wildhorse model. They have a nice wide toe-box and are really grippy as well. That said, it is a totally personal preference, there are lots of other shoes to chose from. When it comes to road events I still rely on The Hoka Clifton. I cant say enough about Hoka shoes, they have been fantastic for me.

Are the newer/est models of the Clifton as good as the prior ones?

_________________

In my opinion NO, although the Clifton 3 wasn't a bad shoe, and in fairness I never wore versions 4 or 5. What made the first version so popular among recreational runners was the super-cushioned mid-sole combined with the ridiculously low weight. They were so light it was amazing. With each subsequent release, the mid-foot has gotten harder and the weight has gotten heavier and heavier to the point where the Clifton 5 does not even feel anything like the original. I still run in my 3's, and they are fine (and durable) but they dont have the magic the first version did. So what did Hoka do? Well, I will tell you - they listened to everyone bitching about how they fucked up the Clifton and this fall they re-released the original version! That's right, all of us Clifton fanboys had a chance to go back in time and but the original shoe again. So I did, and was skeptical. I was worried that they made something that sort of LOOKED like the original but wasn't the same, but when I received them in the mail and started running in them, they are the real deal (except for a couple very minor changes). Overall I am super-pleased with this new Clifton 1 and plan on buying up several more pairs before they disappear again.

If anyone was interested in trying a Hoka shoe, I would recommend the original Clifton 1, not the current version 5. A friend of mine owns a running store and she told me that the Clifton 6 is on its way, with promise of trying to get back to the original, and she said she MAY be able to score me an advance pair to try out and report back to her on. That could be in January, but we will see.

That's great information...thanks!

I'm very interested in trying the Clifton 1.

_________________

my pleasure - there aren't a ton of running stores near me that carry them, but I have traveled to Naperville Running Company to try on and purchase Hoka before. As far as the Clifton 1, they are saying it is in "Limited Release" and I dont know if that means they are available at all stores or not, but I do know they are available online on runningwarehouse.com (and they have a very open return policy). The problem with that is that without trying them on you cant be 100% sure they work for YOU. Opinions always vary on running shoes, all I can state for sure is that they work great for me.

I've been wearing Hokas for the past couple of years based mostly on your recommendation.

I started with the original Arahi--which was fantastic--but then switched to different styles after Hoka screwed up later versions.

Right now I'm wearing the Gaviota--which is a solid running shoe--but I'd definitely still like more cushioning.

_________________

I’ll wave at bridge 61 if I’m in the area.

Gonna deadlift 6 plates for multiple reps in the new year. That's a promise.

_________________

that's right about the point where I will be wondering "why am I doing this again?"

Weighed myself Thursday for the first time in a while. 182 lbs with 10.1% body fat. Works for me. With some time off I’ll be sure to get in some runs and rides on the stationary bike.

_________________
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Buying the wife dishes? Bold move.

I wouldn’t get much out of sississippi or whatever the starting point is before having that thought.

Officially packing it in for 2018. Any gains now just lowers the bar for the 2019 recommitment to excellence.

Got back into lifting this year. Managed to hold my weight between 204-210 for the entire year. Someday I'll be below 200 pounds, hopefully its not related to an amputation.

Yeah, the weather has been pretty good. I've ridden 80 miles this week and even had my second fastest time of the year on a segment yesterday (wind-aided). Pretty good for late December. I haven't missed many days. There was one day where it was icy out and I dropped the bike twice. After the second time I turned around and rode carefully home.

_________________
Don't take it personally.

I had an eventful ride this morning. I headed north down Kedzie from my house. Normally I use the dedicated left turn lane and then go onto the bike trail (For the record, I can accelerate through the left turn faster than the cars but I don't flip my shit because they're slower than I am as motorists so often do when they're behind me. I patiently wait my turn.), but today the left turn lane was backed up with traffic so I just went straight through across Touhy and I was going to make a left turn into the bank parking lot and then proceed onto the trail. I wanted to catch the light so I was riding pretty hard, probably about 20 mph which is the speed limit there. I signaled my left turn and was moving over to make it when suddenly this asshole is leaning on his horn and coming from behind me at about 40 mph. What do I do now? I'm not sure which way to move because he might move the same way and run me right over. It's a hairy situation. My instincts told me to move right so I did. The guy whipped past me about a foot left of me still laying on his fucking horn. I could see that he was a Hasidic in a black hat and he was driving a silver Prius.

I rode my fucking ass off trying to catch him. I'm guessing I hit about 25 mph which is about my limit on this bike on flat ground. I was hoping to catch him at the Howard Street light. He blew through the stop sign at Birchwood or Fargo, but the light at Howard was red and there was a little traffic in front of him. I was pedaling like crazy. I think if I had caught him I may have tried to kill him. I was fucking wild-eyed. I mean, I hadn't been this furious since the last time Boilermaker Rick posted something ludicrous.

The light at Howard turned green but I saw him driving into the parking lot of the kosher Jewel. This is where it gets really dumb. I was still steaming so I rode into the lot and threw my bike into the rack without locking it. I went into the store to look for the guy. I took off my helmet and mask and started walking to the kosher section. Then I saw him. We made quick eye contact and I saw immediately that he was nervous and hoping I didn't recognize him. I wasn't quite as out-of-control as I had been a few minutes earlier and I had enough sense not to make a scene in the store. I waited until he checked out his gefilte fish and matzo crackers and followed him back to his car.

As we walked I remembered watching a baseball fight between the White Sox and Royals when I was a kid. Darrell Porter was catching and he whipped his mask and helmet off in the middle of the brawl. I remembered my dad commenting on how dumb it was to remove a helmet in the middle of a fight, so I put my helmet back on as I walked.

When he got to his car, I confronted him. I said, "Hey, when we were on Kedzie back there you wanted to threaten me. I thought I'd give you the chance to threaten me face to face." He said, "I don't know what you're talking about." I laughed and said, "I'm sure you don't. Memories can get foggy right before you're going to get your teeth knocked down your throat." I could see the guy was about to shit his pants even though he was probably 25-30 years younger than I am. So I said, "Listen, if you ever threaten me with your fucking car again or if I see you threaten anyone else or if I see you driving like an asshole in any way, I'm not going to say a fucking word. I'm just going to find you and slam your face into the concrete. I have your license plate number." He started saying something else, but I just said, "Shut the fuck up", and walked back to my bike.

I had a lot of adrenaline going after that and went 16 miles pretty quick.

_________________
Don't take it personally.

Hasidic Prius Driver could make a great HY song.

_________________

Had a record breaking week, dropped 4 lbs even with a holiday party in there. Played hockey 4x including 6am Saturday and my usual 6:25am Sunday. Down to 207.6, started at 225 on Labor Day. Been a slow slog, but that's not unusual for me given my awful metabolism. Still got work to do to get to my goal of 190, hoping to be there before May.

_________________

Maybe he confused your hand signal for the Heil Hitler.

hooray for me, to hell with joo!

_________________
Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Got back from a family visit to KC. My wife's mother is an excellent baker of cookies and treats ( she grew up Amish ) .
I came back the same weight as I left so I count that as a small victory.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami