The week so far has been: Monday off, Tuesday a 12-miler, yesterday 8 and today 9. Yesterday was a late run due to Fran leaving my apartment at 2pm only to call a few minutes later with the words “My car’s not here!” After asking him 3 times if he was serious before realizing his car had indeed been towed, I got a Zipcar and we anxiously made our way down to the creepy towing company area of Philly (they have their own icky enclave down there). $251 later, the world was once again restored to normalcy…the shysters.
I’m running a bit slower this week, btw – purposely trying to widen the pace gamut because yeah, it’s fun to be running peppy all the time but then where do you go? You end up wanting to top yourself each week and I can’t play that game, otherwise this is gonna turn into a grind.
Besides, while I’m not doing quality runs right now I have re-entered 60-65mpw so it’s not like I’m slacking. Sure, it’s not nearly as effective as doing both workouts and mileage, but at least I’ve got one in the mix.
Appetite Suppressant Wrap-Up
I’m apparently a fickle creature; this experiment was far more interesting when I wanted to get back to 115lbs. Once I realized my runs were trending for the better despite being 4 lbs up, I stopped giving a shit. Even so, in the name of faux science, I did a few more tests this week since I said I would.
I tried Hoodia and Glucomannan after dinner (on different nights, of course) and while they do seem to help stave off hunger for an hour or so, neither is like “Wow, I couldn’t eat a thing!” I’d say between the two, Glucomannan wins, not that it worked more effectively – they were pretty much the same – but at least you know what you’re ingesting with it. That said, I didn’t give Hoodia a fair shot since it should probably be taken a few days in a row to know if it works but I’m not into messing around with it that thoroughly.
The other thing is, I think both Hoodia and Glucomannan are probably more effective for those who don’t have a Stop button on them at meal time. If I ate the way I did as a young chunky thing, to the point of always leaving the table stuffed, then I could see it having more of an impact. They are, after all, meant to be taken before meals, but if you eat small meals already and just want to fend off occasional evening munchies, they’re kind of Meh.
Yerba mate remains the winner for my purposes. I like the fact that it staves off hunger efficiently, doesn’t have any funny stuff added or processed into it and that it’s a common beverage for zillions of South Americans. I won’t be drinking it all the time but I bought a french press specifically for brewing it. It’s cool stuff.
A Death In The Family
It’s time to say goodbye to a trusted and longtime running companion, my Garmin 305. Even though it came back to life after the last rainy drowning, it lost another button and started acting strange this week – it starts beeping out of the blue and then the buttons stop working. As much as I hated to admit defeat, I finally gave in and ordered another 305 at Amazon for $128. They also had the 405 on sale for $169 but I prefer this version. Now, please join me for a moment of silence in appreciation of my little mangled baby before I say goodbye for good.