Looking back, and looking forward

So, 2007 has come to a close. Honestly, if anyone had told me last January that I would lose over 33 pounds in 2007, I would've been ecstatic. The fact that I did it in only three months is absolutely mind-blowing to me.

That said, it's a time to look forward, not back. I still have about 68 pounds to go, and a full year to do it. I have the 5K to run at the end of May, so I still have something to train for in the short term. I'll probably schedule two or three events -- either runs, duathlons or triathlons -- for the summer and early fall, for more incentive. I've proven to myself that I can train for training's sake, but it's still nice to have a goal in mind besides a weight target.

I was very happy with how the Christmas holidays went for me. I had two Christmas dinners, but the only time I went back for seconds of anything was for another roll. I didn't have a lot in the way of sweets -- a couple of sticky buns and a small oatmeal chocolate chip muffin for breakfast Christmas morning, three or four small cherry shortbread cookies, and a divine piece of grasshopper cheesecake on Christmas Eve. Over the past week, I've only eaten out three times, with the worst meal being last night, when I had a filet mignon and baked potato, a couple of pieces of sourdough bread, a ginger ale, and an incredible brownie sundae. It was very satisfying, and a meal like that every once in a while keeps me sane.

As for exercise, I'll wager that I was the only person I know working out on Christmas morning! The plan all along was to get in a workout on my parents' elliptical machine, and despite not getting a lot of sleep, I woke up enough to do a good hill routine for 45 minutes. I did get to a spinning class on Sunday morning, and reaffirmed how much I hate morning workouts, as I got my ass kicked from beginning to end (figuratively AND literally -- those seats are just brutal, even with bike shorts). And I've started a new running plan, the beginner's 5K program from Cool Running. It says that you should be able to run comfortably on this schedule for 4-6 weeks before starting the main program:

Sunday - 3 miles
Monday - off
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Friday - off
Saturday - 2 miles

So I'm planning to run on that schedule from now until either the middle or the end of February, then starting on the main program. If I start the program at the beginning of March, it should end right at the time I run my 5K at the end of May.

And, as a reward for being so good, I bought myself the Garmin Forerunner 305 from Costco.ca. I was trying to find it at a relatively cheap price, but the only places I could find it were in the States. Then I found a discussion on BeginnerTriathlete.com saying people were getting it at a big discount at Costco, so I looked there. It wasn't the $180 in saw it for at Costco.com in the US, or even the $212 at Walmart.com, but $259 was pretty good considering I could only find it here in Canada for $349 minimum. I should have it in a week or two, and get to use it in earnest for a couple of weeks for before the cruise if the weather cooperates.

Happy New Year! May you achieve all the goals you set for yourself in 2008.