The dance

I'm tuckered.

I've been pushing myself this week, harder than before, and all I can say is I can't wait for tomorrow - my rest day. Sunday was 11 miles; Tuesday was 3; Wednesday was a 2-hour workout, including spin class; Thursday was a 2-hour workout including PowerCut; today was a 1-hour spin class with no energy left to do much more.

The diet has gone well this week, though I must say I have been much hungrier with the extra exercise. I try to offset the hunger with water, apples, fiber of any kind, but sometimes I just have to suck it up and let myself be hungry. There's a lot of research out there that says that exercise can sabotage weight-loss because the more you exercise, the hungrier you are and the more you eat, which can negate the calories you burned exercising. I don't want to fall victim to that ... again. It's the reason I gained weight while training for a marathon. It's the reason I can exercise like a fiend and not lose an ounce.

Another thing I really need to watch: The half marathon is two weeks away. I CANNOT let myself get injured this close to the first half I'll have done in two years. There's been a slight twinge in my left knee, so I ice and try to not favor it during spin class. I hope I can be successful in my last long training run before the race; I need to do 12 miles on Sunday. Hopefully tomorrow's rest day will help these little legs heal from a very busy week.

It's such a dance, this weight-loss effort. Work out hard, but not so hard that you sideline yourself with injury. Work out hard, and eat enough that you have the energy to work out hard, but don't eat so much that the weight doesn't come off.

I've been dancing all my life, and it gets tiring. But I can't let myself sit this one out.