Vacation 2014

We arrived home from the land of Ice and Cold exactly 5 minutes before midnight on the 31st.  We spent roughly 11 days on the road visiting family and friends back in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In that time we got in at least three Christmas parties, a wedding reception and a baptism.

We started the visiting on Sunday December 22 at a Christmas party for my wife's mother's side.  I was just getting ready to fill my plate when my wife's cousin Julie made the remark to watch what I was eating so I didn't get gout. (Yes she actually reads this blog) I chuckled to myself since I have not had a flare up in about three months and there was no red meat or other gout inducing food.  That night as I was getting ready for bed I could feel the twinges of a gout attack and silently cursed Julie..or I may have possibly told Kristine..I hate your cousin..one of the two.  What the heck? I had eaten a small amount of pork...some fruit and veggies as well as mashed potatoes.  How could that be the cause of a gout attack?  And then I remembered the 4 cans of Squirt and the Christmas cookies. ( I love Squirt soda and very rarely see it in Colorado..so I took advantage of a fully stocked fridge of ice cold Squirt..I even drank the good stuff..no diet...During the trip I also saw Mello Yello..Sun Drop and Big Red..sodas not seen very much in Colorado)   Thus I am thinking the high fructose corn syrup may have been the culprit. Ugh. Luckily I had brought some of my pills and took them before the attack got too bad.

I had promised myself that I would not put on weight this trip and would work out.  And I actually did work out.  I made it to the Sealed Air YMCA in Racine which is a fairly new facility. If you are ever in the area make sure you check the facility out. I ran on the treadmill the first day. I was actually pretty impressed with my effort and how low my heart rate was..until I realized I was running at altitude.  That does seem to help immensely.  I even went to the Y on Christmas Eve. I took my daughter with and we hit the pool for some laps.  It was pretty cold out..single digits with some snow..so there were hardly any people there and no one to share the pool with.

Of course it was a Wisconsin Y..so they had a snack stand complete with nachos!!  Just in case you wanted to fuel up before or after a workout.  Seriously, I asked the guy working the stand about the Nachos and he was just glad they weren't selling fried cheese curds.

 

 

I celebrated Christmas with the family and got a Ninja Blender from my wife.  I can't wait to actually put it to use.  Thursday I was back at the Y, this time with the in-laws and Laila and her cousins.  I got a decent swim workout in and then went upstairs to walk the track.  While upstairs I met Jason who is the co-founder of Strive Tri Club in Racine.  If you are at all interested in triathlon and are in the Racine area check out their webpage and give them a call.  I talked with him a bit and met three high school students he is training to compete in the Racine 70.3.  They are also trying to raise money to support different community organizations and programs.  You can find out more about them and their efforts here..VAD 70.3.

David, Alonzo, Jason and Victor

Friday we attended a relatives wedding and I noticed my suit was fitting a little snug..I actually blamed the dry cleaner..although I do look good.

Me and the wife stylin

Saturday we were on the road to Minnesota..moving from the balmy - 2 in Racine to the fridgid -12 of Minneapolis (-25 with wind chill)  and there is a big difference between Racine Cold and Minneapolis cold.

Racine Cold (-2)

Minneapolis Cold (-14) - and I'm still freezing in this coat..looks like I put on 20lbs in 4 days

While in Minnesota I got to meet my new nephew and hang out with my brother and his wife. 

I was even a Godparent.

Unfortunately we were not able to work out much in Minnesota although the Cambria Suites where we were staying had a great workout facility.  In fact I would recommend the Cambria Suites for anyone especially since they are more than reasonable price wise.  I was able to at least have a picture done in the facility though. That should count for something.

We were able to get some golf in as well as "ice"ball.  (They called the skee ball ..ice ball..which was actually appropriate.  We also got some hockey, basketball and baseball in. 

We left on Tuesday after Laila worked her mandatory shift at my brother's coffee shop.

So..today was the big moment.  I got on the scale and was hoping to see a loss.  I had eaten ok and worked out..Hell I had played like 5 sports in one day...instead of a loss I saw this..

A new record for me and one I hope not to ever break.  There were some signs I was putting on weight during the week..my suit "shrinking" after having it dry cleaned.  The fact I had to buy size 40 pants ..seriously..I just blamed the manufacturer for faulty labeling.  I also noticed I was now using another hole on my belt.  During the the month of December I had two friends post pics of them at work with different colored shoes on..and then Jen Small posted a pic of her work out pants being on backwards. I made fun of them all.  On Saturday night I was thinking how nice my underwear were feeling and went to check the tag when I was getting ready for bed.  The tag was in front..apparently my underwear are now fitting me better backwards..this may also have been an indicator of things shifting.

I didn't think my dietary decisions had been all that bad. I didn't have a single piece of kringle and limited myself to one serving of cheese curds. However it would seem by my weight gain that there were only two people who had made worse dietary decisions than myself.  My 8 year old nephew (on my wife's side) who had eaten a dollar coin and had to go under to have the coin extracted from his throat (yes he is a special kid..lol) ..and my sister-in-law Adrianne who decided to open her mouth and look at her two month old just as he decided to belch up his milk.  Apparently regurgitated breast milk is not that tasty.

I am guessing the 4 days of being on the road were what really killed me.  No moving around and I get a hankering for Mountain dew..usually the 44 ounce variety..right about the 4 hour mark of a road trip.  Luckily on the drive home my peeps on facebook persuaded me to forego the Moutnain Dew on the return trip home. There are just some items that you must have on a road trip and for me those items are Dew and Smartfood popcorn.  Also, there are just not a lot of healthy things to eat at gas stations.  However I did see this in one of the bathrooms in Iowa.  Maximum strength horny goat weed..unfortunately I did not have 3 quarters to purchase the item. I did notice that it was coming out of the "Health Care Convenience Center" so it had to be good.  Also..what 6 different sensual items could you possibly buy for 75 cents??? And honestly, why are people buying condoms at a gas station in Ames Iowa?

Well the trip was fun. Tomorrow I start work again and the stress that goes with it.  We did stock the fridge this morning with "good" choices and I am looking to a 2014 full of change as well as races and training.  I am hoping to start the change right off the bat.

One good fitness blog related item came out of the trip. I have a great "before" picture.  Holy crap..I have no words for the pic or the idiot in it. And no..I wasn't playing baseball..the employees at the fun center just thought I should be wearing a helmet at all times.

Happy New Year everyone.