Today I ran 8 miles through Golden Gate Park out to the beach and back. This followed yesterday's brick, when I swam about two miles and then biked another 32.
As I've oft-bemoaned over the past few months, 2006 was the year of Living Fat. It was good and bad. I worked hard, made more money than I ever have before, played hard, ate hard, and generally let my body go to pot. (Sorry, bad pun.) I put on about 20 pounds, maybe 25. When I went to see the doctor in December, my oxygen saturation was 96 percent, and he, essentially, scolded me. Harper scolded me too. It was a far cry from where I was in mid-2005, when I could go out and ride my bike 100 miles in a day. I was chastened.
And so starting that month, I began running regulalry (I sporadically exercised throughout 2006, but sporadic exercise doesn't get you any further than none at all.) It fucking hurt. I couldn't even go two miles to begin with without having to stop and walk. January wasn't much better, but at least I wasn't slugging along at ten-minute miles anymore.
Technology saved me. My Nike + iPod Sport Kit, and later, Garmin Forerunner made running interesting. Charts! Graphs! Music! Data!
I could get feedback and track my progress instantly. I can view my rides and runs in Google Earth. I can train with other runners in New York. I can download other runners' and cyclists' routes here in and around San Francisco to my wristtop and fucking race them. Race them!
....
I am not ultra-fit yet. I am just barely fit, I'd say. Nonetheless, I've dropped ten pounds since February 1, and my body fat percentage is now hovering at about 18-19 percent. I shudder to think what it was on December 1, or January 1 for that matter. Yes I could have done it without the $600 worth of electronic gee-gaws. But the gee-gaws have certainly made it more interesting.
And this morning when, for the first time, I rounded the corner on JFK drive with "No Cars Go" playing on my iPod, and looked out and saw the motherfucking Pacific ocean, crashing and heaving about in the morning sun, it was one of the most glorious things I'd ever seen.
