My Journey With Weight Loss – The First Week Of Training

Yesterday I had my annual eye examine. As previously mentioned as a diabetic it is very important that I have my eyes checked every year. My optometrist is a lovely young woman who asked what my most recent A1C had been. I advised her it was 5.2 and she was a bit surprised. She confirmed that I am no longer on diabetic medication and then told me that at 5.2 I wasn’t diabetic. I explained that I have 1 more test in February and if that comes back normal then I will be in remission from diabetes. After examining my eyes and doing all the usual test she told me that my eyesight had improved and my variability was a lot better. I asked how that could be as I am aging that my eyesight could be improving and she told me it was a sign that my glucose levels are very stable. If I stay on this path then likely next year she will put me on a 2-year exam regime which I like because these exams are expensive.

This week marked my first week of training to run a 1/2 marathon and I am taking this seriously, maybe even doing a bit more than I should. I began my week with the usual 5k run followed the next day by an 8k run. Wednesday I did an hour walk then 1/2 hour walk with the dog and finished with a 45 minute walk with my senior group (this will be increasing each week until my group is at an 1 1/2 hour walk). Thursday due to the rain I opted to use the treadmill and do another 5k run but I really ran hard. Yesterday was my long run for the week, 10k and finally today hill intervals. Wow, that’s a lot.

One of the things I have started focusing on is picking up my pace. I have registered for the 1/2 marathon and learned the streets will be closed for 3 hours so you need to be finished by then. Right now I am not quite fast enough to do the 1/2 marathon in 3 hours. So, I am now I am doing sections of my runs where I really pick up the pace. The first time I tried this I was quite convinced that I was going to die but obviously that didn’t happen. Yesterday when doing my 10k I did several sections at a faster pace and realized I have to keep doing this until I am at the pace I need to be at. Right now it is not the endurance that has me concerned for the run in June, it is being able to finish in time. I am very determined I can do this and I will continue to push myself as hard as I safely can so that I can meet my goal.

As for tomorrow, my Fitbit is telling me I need some recovery time. Not only does it currently say my readiness score is low it is actually only 1 out of 100 because of my intense activity this past week. So, I foresee a pretty easy day tomorrow which will include a nice soak in the hot tub.