Day 417 Fitting Into A Two-Seater: The 'Vette Cruise and A Solo 5K At Boomer

Day 417

Fitting Into A Two Seater: The ‘Vette Cruise and A Solo 5K At Boomer

As I sautéed the green bell pepper for my scrambled eggs this morning, I quickly realized that I had enough time to cook them, just not enough time to eat them at home. No problem, I packed them up and took the protein rich breakfast to the studio. The morning host down the hall commented how wonderful it looked and smelled as I typed away at this blog. It just takes a little pre-planning to help make things much easier along this road. A question I get many times is “How do you know the calorie count of everything you eat?” The answer first is: You don’t have to be exactly perfect. It’ll never be exact, that would be almost impossible. Then I tell them: Everything in the United States has a nutrition label, read it and understand it, then rely on the internet or a comprehensive calorie count book. After a while your memory will kick in on all of your favorite selections. And when you’re totally stuck without a calorie count, that’s when you must make an honest evaluation based on ingredients and the cooking method to determine a good guesstimate. Most restaurants have calorie counts online and many of them are featured in the popular calorie count books. A little research and pre-planning goes a long way. Like everything else, you can get pretty good at it after a while. Practice, that’s all it takes.

I was looking forward to my Corvette cruise all morning and the first part of the afternoon. It was set for 2pm and I was ready. What if I still don’t fit in the thing? I mean really, I’m not at goal---I still have a ways to go, but what if…Oh nonsense---I’ll fit! My desire to someday fit into a two-seater sports car and comfortably drive the thing is something I’ve written about before. It’s one of many things to do on my list of things I could never do before as a 505 pound man. Today was that two-seater someday! I remember doing a live broadcast at a Corvette show on Day 55, here’s what I typed that night: My day started with a Corvette Show at the local Chevrolet Dealer. After surveying all of the cars I have to admit I'm not quite ready to try to fit into one. Even had I asked to try out the position behind the wheel, I don't think these Corvette enthusiast would have been real enthused about the idea. And that's probably a good thing right now. I would not want to break something on a Corvette. I have some friends that own one and I'm sure that after another 100 pounds or so, they'll let me sit behind the wheel and see what it feels like.

Gary and Janet Hughes are long time listeners of my radio show and over the years we’ve become friends. The Corvette is Janet’s, make no mistake about that, in fact---she rarely allows anyone else to drive the thing but her, not even Gary. So I was feeling pretty special today. Janet knows how much it means to me. To be able to fit in the drivers seat of a small two-seater sports car (and yes—it’s a two-seater, no backseat to speak of) and I mean really fit like a normal person---it’s been a dream of mine my entire morbidly obese life. It doesn’t matter to me that it’s not my vehicle, I just want to drive it, I don’t have to own it. I just want to feel what it’s like to fit behind the wheel. That’s all I wanted really, the cruising around the area was just a wonderful bonus.

I’m not use to having that kind of power under my foot, wow---that thing can flat out move, as you would expect. With the shades on and the top off (the car top) we cruised all around, never speeding at all. I know! Janet fully expected me to “punch it,” at least once---and I didn’t. I was just cruising and fitting. I was soaking up the sunshine glow of my victories along the way. I felt the wind in my hair and heard the roar of that big motor. The sights, sounds, and emotions of the moment---those were the things I wanted, and it was simply amazing. I could get in and out of the car without any trouble at all. I didn’t break anything! And the seat was one of those that kind of fits around you. It’s contoured for a regular sized person. I always hated seats like this before, but now, oh my---I see why these are so nice, because it fit like a glove! What a wonderful “someday” realized. I couldn’t thank Janet enough for allowing me the experience. It was special indeed.

Today was uncle Keith’s birthday. With Courtney committed to math tutoring, I was on my way to Stillwater alone. The family decided that Ci-Ci’s Pizza buffet would be the gathering place. Keith picked this place because they have a big screen TV and he was hoping for a game 7 of the World Series. When the Yankees won in six games, the plan for Ci-Ci’s remained the same. Buffets don’t intimidate me anymore. I’m in control of my choices. I understand what I can “afford” and I carefully construct a meal accordingly. The slices are really small at this place. Probably less than 150 calories each after careful comparison to places like Dominos and Pizza Hut. I still counted each slice as 150, I had 2.5 slices and a little pasta with a tomato sauce, some fresh baby carrots and some cherry tomatoes from the salad bar. I skipped desert altogether. I left the party feeling completely satisfied and confident in my performance. I focused on visiting, and really had a nice conversation with my cousin Rick Hadley. I don’t get to talk to him very often. He mentioned a few times how he hardly recognizes me these days. That was cool, it’s something I never get tired of hearing. Thank you Rick!

After the party everyone retired to the house in Stillwater while I made my way over to Boomer Lake for another 5K. It was nearly a year ago when we pounded out a 5K on Thanksgiving, and we’ve accomplished several since around this lake. Tonight would be just me, the trail, and my iPod. I decided going in that I would try to jog as much as possible. The goal was to shave a considerable amount of time. It was getting late and I was still dropping by grandmas house for a quick visit, I really needed this 5K, but I also needed to get back home at a decent hour. I started to get lost in my music and as Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like The Wind” started playing, I started jogging across the Lakeview Bridge. I made it about fifty yards when I decided that my legs were really tight. Perhaps I should have stretched. When I say they were “tight,” I mean sore. They were still sore from Tuesday nights 5K walk/jog/sprint and old fashioned foot race I had with Chris Williams. I’m still feeling that! So since I’m a wimp when it comes to any hint of pain, I decided that instead of just working it out (what I should have done), I would just make it a power walk of a 5K. I was cool with this. I walked briskly and enjoyed my music and my thoughts. I grew up here. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve this lake. From the Easter egg hunts when I was a little boy to spending cool nights under the stars with my high school sweetheart, I’ve got a bunch of history at this lake. We use to joy ride around it all the time, never realizing that someday I would be compelled to walk all the way around the thing. It was a beautiful night, perfectly cool, with fabulous music and wonderful memories. What a tremendous way to get a workout.

Amber and KL were waiting for me back in Ponca City. It was a trip I knew nothing about until tonight. They love to surprise us with visits out of the blue, it’s so sweet! So after a quick stop at Grandmas house, I headed home for a visit with my oldest daughter and then I hit the sack. I really didn’t get enough sleep at all. I’ll have to get a nap in today. I’ll make that a priority, ok?
Thank you for reading everyday. I love hearing from everyone, and maybe it was something I said, but I’ve been hearing from many long time readers lately that I didn’t realize I had. Thank you for dropping a few words, your support is so greatly appreciated! Goodnight and…

Good Choices,
Sean








What a fantastic day! Thanks for reading!