Orlando - Weekly Weight Update
Sunday was the first day of my last business trip at Frank & Company. I was heading down for three days of management meetings and probably more than a little socializing with my co-workers. After a few hours on an airplane and about an hour waiting for and riding on a shuttle I made my way over to the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress and got checked into the hotel.
First thing I had to do upon arrival is get something to eat. I was starving so I headed to the bar to grab a sandwich and a beer while watching the game and doing some writing. One of the few things I’ll miss about the business travel is getting to go places that I can try local beers. I went with a Floridian Hefeweizen by Funky Buddha Brewery out of Oakland Park, FL. It is an unfiltered wheat beer that I think could have used some more fruit flavors. It wasn’t bad and worth the purchase to have a new beer to try but I’ve had some better wheat beers. 3 out of 5 stars.
After letting my club sandwich and beer digest for a bit I laced up the shoes to get in a much needed run. I know I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it; I can’t wait for it to cool down so I can run and not feel like I’m going to die. Sure, it is September but I was also in Orlando so the coming fall weather didn’t really have an affect on the temperature. At the time I went out the door my phone said that the current temperature was 86 degrees but it felt like 109 degrees. By the time my run was over I looked like I had jumped in the lake I was near instead of running around it. I was at least happy to get in a good three miles before I had to slow my pace down significantly because of all the sweat. Cool weather, please come soon.
Monday opened with meetings with the management team to discuss various firm and client issues. Really boring but necessary stuff to running an accounting firm. After the having the most expensive chicken salad wrap in the history of mankind (this hotel-provided box lunch of a chicken salad wrap, bag of chips, and a cookie literally cost over $35) we had the afternoon to ourselves. Some of the team went out to play golf, others to do some shopping at the outlet mall, and some of us spent the afternoon sitting by the pool and going down an excellent waterslide. It was a pretty relaxing way to go to work.
For dinner on Monday night we all went out to a very nice Italian restaurant that felt like a place James Gandolfini would eat. There was lots of handshaking with dollar bills in the palm, guys handing out roses to the ladies in our party, and a dude taking requests for his accordion. I had a massive veal chop covered in parmesan cheese and marinara sauce. It was outstanding but far too big which will be a common theme during this trip. I ate way too much.
After such a huge meal I made sure to get up early on Tuesday morning to get in a good long run before our meetings. Well, get up early isn’t exactly true, I just got up at the same time I always do but I had lots of time to kill before our meeting (not everyone wakes up at 5:00am every morning like I do). The resort we were staying at several jogging trails mapped out which was great. It was still pretty damn hot but running at 6:00am in 80 degree heat is vastly superior to running at 2:00pm in 97 degree heat.
Our Tuesday schedule mirrored the Monday schedule so after morning meetings (and another $35 box lunch) we had the afternoon to ourselves. Most of the folks went out golfing, shopping, or exploring some nearby parks but I had some pressing work to get done for a client before a September 30 deadline so I had to work. I didn’t want to spend the time stuck inside working to I took a cue from Rizzo and took my laptop down to the pool. Isn’t technology grand? It is pretty nice to get some work down while sitting by the pool sipping on a fruity beverage.
Tuesday night was another exorbitant meal at a seafood restaurant in Orlando. It became the longest meal in US history. OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but even with a group of nine people it shouldn’t take nearly three hours to have dinner. I’m don’t eat much seafood so I wasn’t really impressed but what I did like was the fact that the restaurant served alligator. I had never had alligator so I was excited to try it and it was really good. Everyone I know that had consumed alligator kept telling me it tasted like chicken and they were dead on. I don’t know if it is more healthy than chicken but it tastes just as delicious. Looks like I can add gator to my dining experience.
Wednesday had some awkward timing because of flight schedules. I had a 2:00pm afternoon flight which required me to hop on a shuttle to the airport at 11:00am. Yes, I am a bit of OCD when it comes to arriving at the airport on time but in this case it was the schedule of the shuttle that dictated my early departure. That still gave me all morning to do a few things. I slept in a bit (you know, 5:30am) before getting up to get some work done. After a few hours of work I headed downstairs to the spa to get a massage.
I believe I have mentioned it before but, as a reminder, I’ll tell you again about the massage reward. As Rizzo and I have been working hard to lose weight we had to find a reward system that didn’t involve food. Our conclusion was that every time one of us lost 10 lbs we would be rewarded with a massage. I had earned a massage a month or so before but I hadn’t taken advantage. I figured I had the time and the ability so why not get a massage while I’m down here in Florida.
After a relaxing massage it was time to head to the airport for the long wait until my flight. Because I was taking a shuttle from the hotel to the airport I started the trip about three hours before my flight. It took no time at all to get to the airport on the shuttle so I had gone through security and was sitting in the airport eating my Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich with only two hours and twenty minutes until my flight. I didn’t mind so much because it gave me plenty of time to do some reading and writing while waiting to make my way home.
It was nice to be home and Thursday and Friday were very much regularly scheduled days. Thursday night’s OrangeTheory Fitness class was killer. Anytime you have to run .5 miles, then row 600 meters, then repeat for 23 minutes, you will be sore the next day. On top of that, Cece was having a rough night getting to sleep on Thursday night. So much so that I spent three hours on Thursday night (or technically Friday morning) sleeping(?) on the floor next to her bed to keep her calm. That made for a pretty long Friday but I made it through.
Friday was my dad’s, the honorable David Earl Clark’s, birthday. He isn’t the type of guy to make a fuss about his birthday. I inherited that trait from him so I don’t make much of a fuss on my birthday either. It certainly can make life as the one celebrating the birthday easier but it can become frustrating for others trying to plan gifts or activities for the birthday because you never get any ideas. Since I got no ideas I took matters into my own hands, stole Dad away from home around 8pm (after putting Cece to bed) and took the old man out for some beers at a local brewery. It was just the two of us and I loved sitting outside with a flight of beers just chit chatting about nothing in particular at all. It was a good night.
Saturday was a pretty simple day. I went running in the morning and it was finally cool so I could get in some good miles while not overheating. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with the family before doing some cooking in the evening. Laid back, easy, and lots of fun.
I ate and drank like a king during my trip earlier in the week and it showed on the scale. I knew I would gain weight this week after eating copious amounts of food and drinking way too many good beers but I didn’t think it would be the 5 pounds that I ended up gaining. It is frustrating to see my weight get out of the aughts (210.8) and my current weight loss out of the 60s (57 lbs) but I shouldn’t really have expected anything after the way I indulged during my trip. This week I will make sure to buckle down and get those pounds pack. It is far too easy to gain weight than it is to lose it so my four days of indulgence will set me back probably three weeks of work. Ugh.
Rizzo was talking about how her mileage was so far down this week and there is no way that she could possible win. She was going on and on about how since I was out of town she couldn’t get in the miles she usually would get. You know what Rizzo? Keep it down over there. I was out overeating and drinking too much. I was too concerned with gaining five pounds to spend time gathering miles for our challenge so what you consider mediocre miles of 35.8 was more than a match what has become a reasonable number of miles for me of 35.5. Looks like you will need to figure out another reward to get for September since you are up 129.2 to 119.2. Whatever.
