The road back?

 On 19 April, I hit a new low.  Well a new high actually -- 177.8 lbs.  That's the most I've weighed since I ran my first race, the George Washington 10 miler, in April 2005.  While the weight went up, the mileage, not coincidentally, went down.  I've averaging around 90 miles a month January through April.  At my peak in 2008, I averaged 260. With the exception of the time I completely quite sugar and got down to 155, my weight has been completely tied to my mileage.  Over 60 miles per week and I'm in the low 160s.  40 mpw and I'm up close to 170.  That calculus has also shifted some (in the wrong direction!) as I've aged.

I read somewhere that it can actually have a negative influence to publicly state your goals, but fortunately nobody reads this!  Anyway, I'm trying to get back in some semblance of shape.  Getting back under 170 by the end of May seems ambitious but not unreasonable.  There's also a 5k on 31 May for me to run.  I'm terrible in the heat, but I find racing to be a good motivator.

OK, so here's the journey back (0/7.0 means 7.0 miles PM.  With no '/,' it's assumed to be AM)

Week of 21 April
Weight:  Sat 26 April - 178.5 (post-run)
Miles:  Mo 0, Tu 0, We 0/10.2, Th 0/7.0, Fr 0/7.8, Sa 3.2, Su 7.8
Total:  36 miles
Notes:  After 3 days back-to-back of decent mileage, I was sore and needed the 3-mile day.  I threw some walk breaks in on Sunday and that helped.  Walk breaks every 5 to 10 minutes.  (Closer to 10.)

Week of 28 April
Weight:  Sat 3 May - 175.2 (post-run)
Miles:  7.1, 0, 8.0, 0, 8.0, 7.8, 7.1
Total:  38 miles
Notes:  Did run/walk all week (at least 5 run, usually 10+).  Working on form a little.  Rotating my shoulders like I'm screwing my spine into my pelvis is a good way to check I'm running "tall."

I feel in much better shape after only two weeks of increased mileage.