Could you carry this kayak for me?

Like I said earlier today, I've had lots on my mind recently, so I was looking forward to a good run this evening. I delayed the run until 7:30PM because it was blazing hot out. (By the way, when did summer arrive in Denver? I generally prefer to sort of ease into it rather than being shoved kicking and screaming into the 90+ degree heat.) I tried to take a nap between work and running, but for the most part I just ended up lying in bed worrying about all the things I needed to do (including running).

Finally, I got out there. It had cooled down considerably, and there was a teeny bit of a breeze, at least at first. Unfortunately, before I laid down for my "nap", I ate dinner. I seem to remember posting about how I should never eat before running (at least no more than a banana or something), but that didn't stop me. I had a full on dinner at 5PM then laid down until 7:30PM then got up for a run. I'm a genius.

I ran 2.5 miles today in a record 32ish minutes, and I covered just over 3 miles total. My pace went as follows:

Mile 1: 12:55 min/mile
Mile 2: 13:06
last 0.5 mile: 7:05 (13:49 pace)

It felt great to be out there tonight. I was sweating a lot and I certainly regretted my untimely dinner, but all in all, I felt good. No knee/hip pain or anything. I'm really enjoying my audiobook, too.

The extra 2lbs of "food weight" that I carried through this run got me to thinking about the weight that I used to carry on every single run, whether or not I'd just eaten. I thought it would be interesting to come up with some kind of physical representation of the weight I've lost (nearly 40lbs). So, for your viewing pleasure...

I have lost:
This dumbbell. This is an obvious choice, I suppose.












This desk chair. You'll just have to take my word for it. The online store had specs that listed this chair at 40lbs.










This kayak (not including passenger). Seriously? I mean, I realize kayaks are probably optimized for mass, much like the Orion spacecraft. But seriously? I've lost a kayak?




This 4 year old child. I have no idea who this person is, but she must be 4-5 years old, and apparently she weighs 40lbs. I have lost the equivalent of a large toddler. Nice.









So, if you can, imagine me running around the streets of Lakewood with a kayak or a kicking toddler strapped to my back. I suppose it's no wonder that running is easier and less painful than it was 6 months ago. :) I'll take it.