My Where's George Week in Review: 02/17/13 - 02/23/13

Hover over this explanation for more detailsThe nerd that I am, I chose to post once a week a summary of my previous week's Where's George activity in comparision to my goals for the year.

In order to make the charts fit, I had to abreviate the column headers. Each header is hoverable for an explanation.

In the past week, I got 33 hits in 9 States [AZ, CA²⁴, CO, FL, ID, IL, MO, OK, OR²]. Of those hits, 2 were the 3^rd hit on the bill, 6 were the 2^nd hit on the bill, and the rest (25) were the initial hit on the bill. Below is a calendar view of the hits throughout the week:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
9	4	5	5	3	3	4

I came into the week with a 9 day hit streak. I got a hit on every day of this week which extended the streak to 16 days.

Of the 9 States in which I received hits this past week, 1 was the first hit for that State in 2013: Idaho. Overall I've received hits in 25 States in 2013. Here's how that stands towards my goal of 46 States hit:

0         51

Previous New Still Needed for Goal Beyond Goal

Additionally in the past week I received my first hit in 2 counties bringing my total of counties hit to 497. The newly hit counties were McHenry IL and Lincoln MO. I set a goal of 98 new counties hit in 2013, and here's a look at my progress towards that goal:

483       581

Previous New Still Needed for Goal

Of the bills hit in the past week, the longest active bill from the bunch was re-entered 3 Years 254 Days 3 Hours 58 Minutes after I originally entered it. That bill is now 12^th on my all-time longest active list.

I made predictions regarding bill entries and hits and new bills with hits for 2013. Here's a look at how I'm doing towards those predictions:

	SoYStart of Year	SoWStart of Week	EoWEnd of Week	WΔWeek Change: Number Added this Week	YΔYear Change: Number Added this Year	PPrediction (for Year)	P/WPrediction for Week: A Week's Share of the Total	PtDPrediction to Date: The Portion of the Prediction that should be Completed so Far	WvPWeek versus Prediction: How the Week's Numbers Stack Up Against the P/W	DvPDate versus Prediction: How the Year's Numbers So Far Stack Up Against the PtD
Bills Entered	22920	23691	23844	153	924	28920	115.1	23808	+38	+36
Bills with Hits	3704	3859	3884	25	180	5074	26.3	3907	-1	-23
Total Hits	4330	4519	4552	33	222	6030	32.6	4582	+0	-30

It was a good week for entries (and hits, for that matter) mostly since I traveled to Southern California to attend UFC 157. I didn't end up as many bills above my weekly target as expected though, and I expect this coming week will be light on entries, so I may once again be in the red.

At the current rate I'm entering bills in 2013, I'll end up with 6246 bills entered. To hit my goal of 6000 entries, I'll need to just average 114.3 bills per week for the rest of the year.

Looking at my goal of increasing the percentage that $1s make up of my entries by 1% (started the year at 87.64% so the goal is 88.64%), my percentage is now 87.82% [+0.18%].

	SoYStart of Year	SoWStart of Week	EoWEnd of Week	WΔWeek Change: Number Added this Week	YΔYear Change: Number Added this Year	GGoal: Number of Total Ones Needed by the End of the Year Based on the Prediction of 6000 Bill Entries This Year	GfWGoal for Week: This Week's Portion of the Goal Based on the Number of Bills Entered in the Week	GtDGoal to Date: The Numbers of One Needed to be Entered so Far this Year to be on Track to Met the Overall Goal	WvGWeek versus Goal: How the Week's Numbers Stack Up Against the GfW	DvGDate versus Goal: How the Year's Numbers So Far Stack Up Against the GtD
$1s Entered	20086	20796	20939	143	853	25634	141.5	20941	+2	-2
Dynamic GoalProgress towards the goal based on my actual rate of entering bills per day which would result in 6245.55555555556 entries this year rather than 6000						25851	141.2	20939	+2	0

Regarding my goal of increasing my non-San Francisco FRB entries, here's a table of my current progress:

	SoYStart of Year	SoY%Percentage of Overall at Start of Year	SoWStart of Week	SoW%Percentage of Overall at Start of Week	EoWEnd of Week	EoW%Percentage of Overall at End of Week	G%Goal Percentage	GtDGoal to Date: The Numbers Needed to be Entered so Far this Year to be on Track to Meet the Overall Goal	DvGDate versus Goal: How the Year's Numbers So Far Stack Up Against the GtD
Boston "A"	781	3.41%	810	3.42%	816	3.42%	3.51%	817	-1
New York "B"	1691	7.38%	1752	7.40%	1767	7.41%	7.58%	1768	-1
Philadelphia "C"	656	2.86%	681	2.87%	687	2.88%	2.96%	687	0
Cleveland "D"	819	3.57%	865	3.65%	871	3.65%	3.67%	857	+14
Richmond "E"	1569	6.85%	1637	6.91%	1647	6.91%	7.05%	1641	+6
Atlanta "F"	2096	9.14%	2191	9.25%	2203	9.24%	9.64%	2203	0
Chicago "G"	1502	6.55%	1565	6.61%	1573	6.60%	6.75%	1572	+1
St. Louis "H"	740	3.23%	769	3.25%	779	3.27%	3.33%	775	+4
Minneapolis "I"	602	2.63%	624	2.63%	629	2.64%	2.73%	631	-2
Kansas City "J"	558	2.43%	579	2.44%	583	2.45%	2.53%	585	-2
Dallas "K"	953	4.16%	974	4.11%	978	4.10%	4.36%	1001	-23

I found a new wild this past week. It traveled 2 Years 354 Days 8 Hours 41 Minutes to me from Prospect, OR (making a stop in Daly City, CA). The front of the bill had a circular stamp around the FRB symbol:

And the back had a one-liner at the bottom:

I've added a stamp to both side and sent it on it's way. We'll see if it turns up again.

After a disappointing week last week, this week was certainly a recovery week. February is back on track to exceed 100 hits, but it's going to be close. Can't wait to see where the bills I entered and/or spent in Southern California turn up next.

The Week That Was: 03/26/2012 - 04/01/2012

Better late than never, right? I'm posting this a couple days late, but posting it anyways. I'm thinking I really ought to focus less on weekly posts and more on posting in a timely manner (i.e. food truck trips on the day they happen rather than at the end of the week).

Weight Mis-Management
I'm still in mis-management mode. I don't think I kept the food log for a full day during the week. In fact, I forgot to weigh myself on Thursday which was the first time in a long time that I didn't weight myself when at home.

	Min	Max	Avg
03/19/2012 - 03/25/2012	172.2	175.6	173.5
03/12/2012 - 03/18/2012	174.8	175.6	175.1

On the plus side, my max weight didn't get any higher. I have a bad feeling I'm not going to be motivated to do better until I either get heavier or get back from San Francisco.

Running
My weekly run was better this week than last but still a little off. I completed 7.40 miles (one tenth more than last week) in the 80 minutes. My initial 10K of the run was finished in 67:20 nearly a minute better than last week. Hopefuly this weekend's run was be an improvement again.

Initially, I finally signed up for the Sacramento Zoo Zoom. So I have one more weekend run to train before that race. The course is suppose to be flat and fast, so hopefully I can set a new personal record. If not, I'll know that my extra weight is holding me back.

Food Trucks
Once again it was a double food truck week. And it was the same food trucks as last week: Heavenly Dog Hot Dogs and Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen.

I chased down Heavenly Dog on Tuesday. According to their tweet, they were going to be in Rancho Cordova with Fuzion Eatz and Volkswaffle, and I've been wanting to try Volkswaffle. Well, Volkswaffle wasn't there, so I went with the dog. I got the 3 Alarm Dog again, and once again it was quite good although all the cheese stuck to the foil.

On Thursday I went with a small group from work to find Drewski's. They didn't have the mac & cheese balls, so I went with a mustang and the tator tots. While we were eating, Drewski showed up with freshly made mac & cheese balls, however, he was transporting them in the back of his truck uncovered. Gross!

My Corgis
Fiona was sick on Sunday and threw up six times. It's sad to see her sick. She was better on Monday, but watching a dog puke is kind of disturbing.

Miscellaneous
Saturday night my wife and I went to a crab feed. They had a basket raffle at the event, and Sierra won two of the baskets. We were hoping when she won that it'd be the Lottery Scratchers baskets, but neither were. Still pretty awesome that she won the stuff.

The Week That Was: 03/19/2012 - 03/25/2012

Another week is in the books. I'm definitely continuing to chose enjoyment over dieting. I don't think I can continue to make that decision for too many more consecutive weeks without starting to see some ill effects.

Weight Mis-Management
The mis-management of my weight continues. On the positive side, I did stick with the food dairy Monday through Wednesday, unfortunately, I stopped and didn't record lunch on after Thursday although I did record Friday's and Saturday's breakfast in a lame attempt to get back on the program. I will hopefully do better this coming week. After all was said and done, I was pretty much even over the past two weeks:

	Min	Max	Avg
03/12/2012 - 03/18/2012	172.4	174.8	173.4
03/19/2012 - 03/25/2012	172.2	175.6	173.5

I think part of my program weight management wise is that my ability to complete my runs doesn't make it seem like I need to drop any more pounds.

Running
I was back to doing my 80 minutes training runs this week. I typically run on Saturdays, but due to the threat of rain, I waited until Sunday. My performance was not as good as past weeks. I only covered 7.30 miles in the 80 minutes, and the first 10K of the run took me 68:19. Hopefully this was just an off week. Next weekend's performance should give me a clue into that.

Food Trucks
I hit up two food trucks in the past week. On Thursday, I made a trip out to catch Drewski's Hot Rod Kitcken. I've caught up with Drewski's a number of times, but this was the first time they have deep fried mac & cheese balls. I split an order with two of the guys that chased down the truck with me. The original order was cold, and as we were finishing our first bite, Drewski himself yelled out at us to ask if they were cold. Once we confirmed they were, he had a new batch made to replace them. The hot batch was simply amazing. Other than the mac & cheese balls, I had my usual Mustang which was good as always.

On Friday, I made my first chase down of the Heavenly Dog Hot Dog truck. They have four different dogs you chose from when you pick your item: beef, hot link, polish, and turkey. I decided to order the Three Alarm Dog: a bacon(!) wrapped hot dog with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, and habanero aioli. I asked the cashier which dog she recommended. The hot link, of course! I ordered a side of onion rings to accompany my dog. When I got my food, the melted pepper jack cheese stuck to the aluminum foil in which the dog was wrapped, but I was able to scrap that off and put it back on the hot dog. I must say that the dog was fantastic! The rings were ok. They serve them with ketchup (I tend to use mustard). I think if I got the rings again, I'd see if they'd give me a different sauce (the habanero aioli, perhaps). Heavenly Dog may be my fourth favorite food truck and could move up. I'm definitely looking forward to chasing them down again.

Miscellaneous
I had alcohol three days in a row this past week. Don't think I've done that for a while (last year when I was drinking dessert wine every night for a week, I think). Twice beer, and the other time double skinny pirates (two shots of Captain Morgan plus Diet Coke). Looks like my tolerance for the double skinny pirates is back.

I bailed out on making a trip out to Tahoe on Sunday with some guys from work. My wife was concerned that snow would make the trip back difficult, and that the group may have gotten stuck in Tahoe. I feel bad about bailing on the guys, but as they say, "Happy wife: happy life". Not sure a bunch of outdoor activities in the snow would be all that fun.

The Weeks That Were: 03/05/2012 - 03/18/2012

For some reason I missed writing my usual "week that was" last week, so I'm going to join the past two week's memories into one post. I'm sure I'll miss out on some details and activities, but it wouldn't shock me if I missed stuff each week.

Weight Mis-Management
My desire to behave in regards to calories consumed continued to be absent, and it finally caught up with me:

	Min	Max	Avg
02/27/2012 - 03/04/2012	170.6	172.0	171.4
03/05/2012 - 03/11/2012	170.4	173.2	171.9
03/12/2012 - 03/18/2012	172.4	174.8	173.4

I'm up 2 pounds from 2 weeks ago, and it's time to get serious about sticking to the budget. I hope that getting back to the program will see immediate results, but it would serve me right to have to suffer for a few weeks to get back to where I was. On the positive side, perhaps I'll maintain focus long enough to drop below 170.

The big question now is what will be my next weight loss sprint. I don't have my next run picked out yet (though I have an idea). My last sprint was a bust, and some thought needs to go into where the sprint plan works. Of course, it's hard to really be disappointed with my weight.

Running
I've already covered my performance in the Folsom Shamrock 10K enough. The prior weekend, I ran 7.64 miles in 80 minutes and covered the first 10K of that run in 65:30. Both of those were records to date. I look forward to improving on those to help improve my official run times even more.

I haven't signed up for my next race yet, but I think it's going to be the Sacramento Zoo Zoom, a charity run that benefits the Sacramento Zoo. That run will be held April 15 and would be my first non-Folsom run.

My Corgis
The rain has returned, and Tyson and Fiona have been "locked" inside more than usual. There were pretty much no walks last week until the weekend. I think Fiona was going to go crazy with cabin fever. I hope the rain breaks long enough to keep her sane.

Tennis
Played my first tennis match of the year. Must say that I was pretty awful. There were some decent points, but for the most part, they went to the other team. I think the final score was 6-2, 6-1. Hopefully I'll get some of my game back before the next match.

The dogs are squeaking the crap out of a new toy, and my ability to concentrate is gone. We'll call this post complete.

The Week That Was: 02/27/2012 - 03/04/2012

I made a one day trip to Oregon for work this week on Thursday which made for a long day. The purpose of the trip was to discuss/brainstorm the user interface/experience for the tools on which I work. While no concrete decisions were made in the meeting, taking part in the process should help out moving forward as I'll be able to reuse the tactics for more productive means. I had thoughts of spending a night in Portland as part of the trip, but in the end, I'd rather not get home late on Friday (affecting my weekend) and spend an extra day away from the corgis.

Weight Management
My desire to hold myself to the amount of calories needed to lose weight has disappeared, and so, my weight was even for yet another week in a row. My weight fluctuation this week was the least of any week this year:

	Min	Max	Avg
02/20/2012 - 02/26/2012	170.2	172.6	171.3
02/27/2012 - 03/04/2012	170.6	172.0	171.4

I don't expect that my motivation will return this upcoming week. With the Folsom Shamrock 10K now under 2 weeks away, it's likely I won't "get back at it" until the second half of the month.

Running
I skipped the midweek run again this past week, and with tennis starting up this coming week, I think I likely won't be doing the short fast run for a couple more weeks. My weekend run went well as I completed 7.54 miles in 80 minutes (up 0.12 miles from last week). I was almost a minute faster on completing the initial 10K also finishing in 66:48. I've officially signed up for the Folsom Shamrock 10K, so next week's run will likely be shorter (70ish minutes) to taper down for the organized run.

Food Trucks
Fuzion Eatz made the trip out to Folsom on Saturday. Since the trucks don't really come to Folsom, I made sure to attend to try to prove that Folsom is a worthwhile place for the trucks to stop. Wicked 'Wich was originally going to be the truck in Folsom, but they had to get Fuzion Eatz to cover them at the last moment. This was my second meal at Fuzion Eatz, and I must say, that I enjoyed it more the second time than the first. The waffle fries were still awesome, but my gyro seemed significantly better. Last time I got the Pancho Villa and this time the Kamikaze. Based on ingredients, I would have expected to prefer the Pancho Villa. I will hunt down Fuzion Eatz again: hopefully in Folsom during the work week.

UFC Fantasy League
I finished third in points for UFC on FX 2 but was less than 10 points behind the top guy (the guys who is second in the league) so I'm still comfortably in the overall lead. There aren't any UFC events for almost a month and a half, so there'll be a bit of a break before things get going again.

The Week That Was: 02/20/2012 - 02/26/2012

This week has been more exciting than the past weeks. I celebrated "Pancake Day" with friends on Tuesday, attended a Poker Night on Friday, and went out to the bar for UFC 144. All the activity played a bit of havoc with my weight management plans.

Weight Management
With all that was going on this week along with my mother-in-law sending cookies home with me on Sunday, I decided that I'd take a break from trying to lose weight this week. I went well over the "loss" calorie amount but stayed within "maintain" calories up until Sunday when I went a bit out of control. I didn't feel particular good on Sunday as a result, and hopefully that feeling will help me get back onto the wagon. Regardless of the break, I still had a descent week weight-wise lowering both my minimum and average by 0.4 from the previous week and the max weight was 1.2 pounds down:

	Min	Max	Avg
02/13/2012 - 02/19/2012	170.6	173.8	171.7
02/20/2012 - 02/26/2012	170.2	172.6	171.3

I expect that my stats next week will suffer from my freedom this week. But I'll deal with that next week. The weigh-in of 170.2 was my lowest of the year, but I still can't break through the 170 mark. Probably going to have to wait a few weeks to get there.

Running
Feeling some pain in the "ball" of my left foot, I opted to not go for a mid-week short, fast run. I still went out for my long weekend run, and fueled by the increased calories I was eating, I ran faster and further than last week. I completed the initial 10K of the run in 67:47 (nearly a minute faster than last week) and completed 7.42 miles in 80 minutes (compared to 7.25 last week). My left foot is feeling good after the long run, so I'm hoping to do a fast 20 minute run on Tuesday.

Still waiting to sign up for the Folsom Shamrock 10K. I'm wondering if perhaps that run won't happen as it's getting close to race date, and it seems not worthwhile for the coordinators to fly in from Vegas to run the event if there are not a lot of participants. There is a 10K in Elk Grove one weekend later that I can run as a backup if the Shamrock run doesn't happen.

Pancake Day
Pancake Day being the British version of Mardi Gras (the original Mardi Gras not the New Orleans version) or at least that's how my buddy Dave describes it. At Pancake Day, Dave and I had our first drink of Captain Morgan since the NFC Championship experience. We didn't have much, and it definitely tasted good: Captain and Coke Zero is a tasty duo. Although I'd say that the pancakes were really crepes (and delicious!), Pancake Day was fantastic. Looking forward to celebrating every year.

Poker Night
The first poker night of the year was a barn-burner. Although we only had seven players, a lot of chips moved around the table and the pots were larger than usual. I'd say this was the most entertaining poker night in a few years. I'm still disappointed in the decrease in attendance (we use to get ~10 accepts per poker night), but seven is a good number as long as most stick around (we had six when the game broke up at midnight). I came out a whopping $2 ahead. The top winner (the only guy who left early) won $14 which is the largest in quite some time (if ever).

UFC Fantasy League
Yet again another good week for me although I finished second I still scored ~30 points more than the player in second. Henderson winning the title fight saved the night for me as I would have been last had the decision gone the other way which it easily could have. Funny to think that the UFC will be taking over a month off after this Friday's event.

The Week That Was: 02/13/2012 - 02/19/2012

Weeks are passing by too quickly now. Is it sad that I find it easier to write about what happened Where's George-wise during the week than my actual week? Sometimes it feels like my life boils down to sleeping, working, and relaxing (a.k.a. not doing anything). I think I need to live a bit more.

Weight Management
Increased activity last weekend and into the week has played havoc with my weight loss goals. I had the same minimum as last year, a much higher max, and an almost equal average, so I'll call this week "even" to the last:

	Min	Max	Avg
02/06/2012 - 02/12/2012	170.6	172.6	171.6
02/13/2012 - 02/19/2012	170.6	173.8	171.7

Keeping in mind that I went on a bike ride last Sunday and the additional run during the week, I think this week was actually quite successful. Hard to truly compare this week to last with the exercise increase. Looking forward to seeing how next week compares to this one although the exercise profile will again be different.

Running
I followed through and added the "quick" run this week although I went on Wednesday rather than Tuesday (was still pretty sore on Tuesday). I ran for 20 minutes and got in 2.25 miles which was on the high side of my expected range. For my Saturday run, I picked a different route and started slow to see if that'd help later in the run. My first 10K of the run wasn't impressive: 68:46 (three seconds slower than last week and the slowest for the year). I finished the 80 minute run averaging 11:01 min/mile which was faster than last week's but not that fast compared to most runs this year. However, knowing that I've exercised more than usual this week, I think that time is respectable.

I received a notification from Elemential Running (the group that took over and ran the Super Bowl 10K) that they'd be coorinating and holding the entire schedule of runs that the Mathis's would have held this year. Based on that, my next run will be the Folsom Shamrock 10K on St. Patrick's Day (which was my original plan at the beginning of the year). I should offically sign up this week.

UFC Fantasy League
Another good week for me in the league as I came out on top picks-wise for UFC on Fuel TV 1. This weekend's event (UFC 144) will be worth a lot of points. Part of me hopes that after it the league gets a lot closer, but the competitive part hopes that I compeltely blow everyone out of the water.

Miscellaneous
Completed my taxes today with the help of my father-in-law. Nice to have them done and out of the way.

The Week That Was: 02/06/2012 - 02/12/2012

Another week is over already? This week saw my "return to biking". Things at work are changing, and it will be interesting to see how things play out. In the meantime, I'm working towards learning more about user experience and the creation of better user interfaces.

Weight Management
My first week back to eating decreased calories to attempt to lose one pound a week is in the books. I stuck to the plan, but it's amazing how big of a difference 500 calories a day makes. Even with sticking to the plan, my weight loss was only at about half a pound:

	Min	Max	Avg
01/30/2012 - 02/05/2012	171.2	173.8	172.2
02/06/2012 - 02/12/2012	170.6	172.6	171.6

My theory on the half pound loss is that weight loss at times seems to be delayed, and as such, part of last week's maintainence calorie eating bleed into this week (and why I still dropped a bit of weight last week). Next week should be a better indicator although I'll be curious to see how the running then bike ride combo affects my body's storage of water weight.

Running
I went for my normal Saturday run. I think my body was upset about the decreased calories, as the initial 10K of the run took 68 minutes and 43 seconds which I believe was the slowest of the year. Overall, I ran 7.25 miles in just over 80 minutes averaging 11:04 per mile. Depending on how i feel when Tuesday rolls around, the plan is to run a "quick" 2 miles. Regardless, with next weekend being a three day weekend, I should have the opportunity to go for a couple long runs.

Biking
For the first time in at least eight months, I went out for a ride on my bike with the guys from work. It was our normal "short" ride from work to "the bathrooms" covering ~28 miles. We went on Sunday (the day after the run). I puttered out about 3/4th of the way through. I like the excersize part of riding, but riding at times is more effort than fun. I thnk I'll continue to ride for a few weeks to see if my body will adjust to the additional exercise.

Miscellaneous
My second trip to Vegas has been booked. The "Brotherhood of the Captain" will be heading back in May. UFC 146 featuring Junior Dos Santos defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship against Alistair Overeem should be occuring the weekend we are there and should be my third live UFC event (my second also featured Dos Santos as the headliner). Surprisingly I was the one pushing for booking the trip on Friday rather than thinking about it over the weekend and completing the booking on Monday.

The Week That Was: 01/30/2012 - 02/05/2012

February is here, and 2012 is going good so far. I posted more often in January than I thought I would. Hopefully that trend will continue into February.

Weight Management
My first "weight loss sprint" is now done. Eating maintainence calories was nice although I actually ate below that level. I guess maybe having maintainence calories "available" was more so the nice part. My high and low weight for the week were less extreme than the previous week although my average was about the same. The summery stats for the week compared to last look as such:

	Min	Max	Avg
01/23/2012 - 01/29/2012	170.6	174.2	172.4
01/30/2012 - 02/05/2012	171.2	173.8	172.2

I'll be starting my next sprint tomorrow. My original thought was to good with a 2 lbs loss, but since my next planned run is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to go all out and target 4 lbs which would put me right at the target I'd probably stick with for the year. I think I'll be a bit lenient with my budget in the first week but getting more strict about it after that.

Running
As I posted yesterday, I completed the Super Bowl 10K on Sunday. The run went well, and my time was better than expected. I was the top finisher in my age group (because I was the only 10K runner in my age group). I'm still waiting to see if the Folsom St. Patrick's Day Run is held. If so, that will likely be my next event.

Where's George
It's funny how quickly my focus area changes when it comes to Where's George. The previous week I was all excited about hit coolness (after thinking about it for a few weeks). Last week my effort went towards adding a "dynamic" graphing feature to my WG? statistics program. The graphs are neat although I'm not sure I'll use them as much as I thought last week. My mind is now wandering to thinking about adding a time-to-hit chart. Eventually I'm sure I'll get back to hit coolness.

UFC
I was quite excited to watch Carlos Condit win the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship. I've been a Condit fan since watching him dominate in the WEC, and it's good to see that his progression has continue in the UFC.

UFC Fantasy League
I finished second in my fantasy league for UFC 143 but still maintain the overall lead. I picked the entire preliminary card correctly but missed two of the five main card fights. Correctly picking Koscheck to win via decision helped me narrow the distance.

Miscellaneous
I was glad to see that the Super Bowl was so close and a good game. In the end, I decided that what I wanted to see was screw-ups by Brady and Manning. Brady certainly kept his part of the bargain with the safety. I wasn't a fan of the halftime show, and there weren't too many commericals that seemed worth it to me.

The Week That Was: 01/23/2012 - 01/29/2012

Another week in the books. The first month of 2012 is almost behind us. Been a good week although one lacking much excitement.

Weight Management
My first "weight loss sprint" is almost over. I had one day under the goal weight this week, but the bounce-back post-run wasn't high enough to take me out of Lose It's maintainence zone, so I'm right here I want to be. The summery stats for the week compared to last look as such:

	Min	Max	Avg
01/16/2012 - 01/22/2012	171.4	175.0	172.8
01/23/2012 - 01/29/2012	170.6	174.2	172.4

Average weight was only 0.4 lbs down from the previous week's but peak and minimum weight were 0.8 lower. I ate a little above the "1 lb/week loss" calories and intend to eat "maintainence" calories this week to energize my body for the Super Bowl 10K. Based on these numbers, I'm guessing I'll be targetting 169.5 for the next sprint, but that decision will be made next week.

Running
I went for my last pre-Super Bowl 10K run on Saturday and decreased my run length a bit (5 minutes) to help rest up for the run. I did 6.86 miles in 75 minutes for a 10:57 min/mile average pace (a bit down from last week). I finished the first 10K in 67:58 which is better than typical (but slower than last week). I'm positive I'm ready to do well next Sunday.

UFC Fantasy League
Another good week for me in my UFC fantasy league. I scored the most points to extend my lead. One guy in the league failed to turn in picks which puts him pretty far back. Might have to make rules around how to deal with that in the next revision so that it doesn't become a problem.

My Corgis
Fiona has finally become a woman. She sat on my lap on Monday and when she got up I noticed that my jeans were stained. She was overdue for her first heat, and we were getting worried that something serious was causing it not to come so it was a relief that it started. Getting her to wear her diaper can be a struggle some days, but she seems to be use to it now (Sunday morning was the first morning that it was still on when we woke up). Sierra is back to thinking maybe she should fix her after all.

Miscellaneous
I did no drinking this past week. After the aftermath from drinking during the 49ers game, I could use some time off. It's also nice to not "spend" the calories on alcohol which doesn't help with feeling full.

I "treated" myself to a lunch at Smashburger this week. It's been a few months since I've been to Smashburger due to lack of nutritional information and assumed high caloric content. I was pleasantly surprised to find after ordering that their nutrition information is now posted online. It, of course, is not health food, but at least I have data to know how to compensate.

Been watching a lot of the Australian Open this past week. I always enjoy watching the Grand Slams, not sure why I don't watch more tennis throughout the year. Thinking I should look into getting tickets for the US Open Series event in San Jose. Went to the women's tournament at Stanford a couple years ago (saw the Williams sisters and Sharapova among others) and had a great time.

Signed up to join a Thursday night doubles league for the spring. It'll be good to get back to being a regular than a sub (like I did last year). My fitness hope for the year is the walk the dogs most nights during the week along with a longer walk on each day of the weekends, go for a long run on Saturday (sometimes Sunday), a short run on Tuesday, and tennis (or another short run) on Thursday. We'll see if I get there.

With no vacation from work since last October and nothing planning until a cruise in June, I'm started to get the itch to take something small. The crew that went to Vegas in October is eager to go back, we're just waiting for the UFC to schedule an event that fits our timeline. I'm also thinking going to the Best in the West Rib Cookoff in September would be fun although a bit far out. I think I need something late February/early March.

The Week That Was: 01/16/2012 - 01/22/2012

Another week is in the books. Aside from the Niners loss (and the drunkedness during it), I'd have to say that it was a pretty good week.

Weight Management
I hit my first target weight on Saturday and then immediately jumped up a couple pounds on Sunday due to water retention (on Saturday, I ran 7.35 miles). The summery stats for the week compared to last look as such:

	Min	Max	Avg
01/09/2012 - 01/15/2012	172.0	176.0	173.9
01/16/2012 - 01/22/2012	171.4	175.0	172.8

I ended the week 180 calories over budget which isn't good but not really bad as I should still be on track to continue to lose some weight this upcoming week. Touching down below 171.5 was exciting and right on schedule (two weeks prior to the Super Bowl 10K). LoseIt resets you back on weight loss mode when you hit ~2 lbs over goal weight, and I'm hopefully that I won't hit above that after my next run, but it'll probably be close.

Food Trucks
This past Tuesday I made my first trip to chase down El Matador Mobile Mex in their first trip to Rancho Cordova.

This was the first "taco" truck that I've chased down with the thought that this would be more along the lines of a gourmet taco. I ended up trying their carnitas, steak, and one of their daily specials: the Asian steak taco.

The carnitas taco (top in the picture) was ok: I much prefer the carnitas at La Fiesta Taqueria (not a food truck). The steak (right) was better. The Asian steak (left) was the highlight of the bunch mainly for it's uniqueness. Both the steak tacos had a bit of a kick that was enjoyable. All in all, I enjoyed my lunch, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to find El Matador.

Running
I did another 80 minute run this week but at a quicker pace than last week and actually my fastest run in a number of weeks. I did more climbing also and managed to complete 7.35 miles in the 80 minutes. I completed the first 10K of the run in 66 minutes and 50 seconds which was a minute and a half better than my previous best.

Miscellaneous
The second event scored using my UFC fantasy league rules is in the books. I finished a close second this week and still maintain a healthy league. My buddy Josh had an impressive run at corretly wagering on the outcome of the matches and was able to make up the deficit of picking one fewer fight correctly. I'm still likely the format so far, but I do think I made it overly complex.

The Niners loss to the Giants was heartbreaking. I watched the game at Folsom Lake Bowl (my UFC PPV destination) and made the mistake of drinking double Captain and diet cokes rather than beer. I put away four (!) during the fourth quarter of the Patriots/Ravens game through half time of the 49ers/Giants. Needless to say, I was a little out of it. I started to get back into things during the third quarter and enjoyed the excitement (and disappointment) of the end of the game. I went into the day wanting to see a Ravens/Niners rematch, but I guess I can live with a repeat of the Giants/Patriots Super Bowl from a couple years ago.

The Week That Was: 01/09/2012 - 01/15/2012

The second week of 2012 showed signs of potential upcoming irratation in weight management, my longest run in a few years, and the start of my overly complex UFC fantasy league.

Weight Management
I don't know that the stats tell the whole story this week, but here they are:

	Min	Max	Avg
01/02/2012 - 01/08/2012	173.2	177.6	174.7
01/09/2012 - 01/15/2012	172.0	176.0	173.9

So my minimum, maximum, and average weights were down for the week, but I ended the week with an "unexplained" two pound increase. I kept my caloric intake within budget (below even), so I don't know if my body has learned my running schedule and was storing up water in advance or if I'm just about to suffer a setback even though I'm "doing everything right". I've had these before, and they are quite demoralizing. I ended the week a surprising 938 calories under budget mostly from leftover calories from Sunday where I burned 995 of the week's 1320 calories and didn't use 746 of those. This is evidence towards why Lose It needs a rolling weekly calorie budget rather than resetting every Sunday. Part of my distrubing weigh in results may stem from the 1020 calories I used on beer. Adding those to the 938 calories I didn't use, my body got a lot less "food" than the week before and may be revolting.

Running
I just went on one run in the past week, and it was on Sunday rather than Saturday as my wife and I had company this weekend. I did the run a little later than normal in the day after eating a bit more than usual pre-run, and I didn't feel particular good during the run. Not surprising, my pace was quite a bit slower than normal with me average 11:24 per mile. As a "punishment" for the slow pace, I decided to run an additional 5 minutes for a total of 80 during which I completed seven miles. My 10K time was less impressive this time at 71:04 (roughly three minutes slower than typical).

Miscellaneous
As predicted last week, no leaf raking was necessary this week. Chores this week were focused on cleaning my bathroom and the "man cave" (work in progress) to prepare for the guests. Maybe after cleaning up take two on setting up my room will see me making better progress.

Three friends and I are trying out my UFC fantasy league rules and we made our picks for Saturday's UFC 142. I'm in the lead after the first event, but there is an event a week for the next three weeks, and it'll be interesting to see how things are going after that stretch.

I've started to think about trying to create a metric for "hit coolness" for my Where's George hits. This effort is likely to blow up in my face (I posted about it on the Where's George forum, but the conversion centered around it not being possible and that it doesn't make sense to try), but I think it'd be neat to be able to identify the "coolest" hit in my weekly review Where's George posts.

The Week That Was: 01/02/2012 - 01/08/2012

The first week of 2012 was a good one highlighted by success in weight management, two food truck lunches, a long run, and what was hopefully the last major leaf cleanup of the season.

Weight Management
Starting off, I think we have to look at the stats:

	Min	Max	Avg
12/26/2011 - 01/01/2012	174.0	178.4	176.3
01/02/2012 - 01/08/2012	173.2	177.6	174.7

My minimum and maximum weight during the week were both 0.8 pounds less than the week before. Additionally my average weight was 1.6 pounds less. I think the former may be more representive of what I actually lost since in the week before since I think I spent more time retaining water from exercising in the previous week. As for caloric budget, I finished the week 485 calories below budget which was aided by the 1941 calories I burned during the week. I don't expect my numbers next week will be as impressive, but I look forward to continued weight loss.

Food Trucks
On Tuesday, I made my inaugural trip to Coast to Coast Sandwiches.

I tried out the Philly Cheesesteak (w/Wiz) and the Bacon Mac & Cheese. The Bacon Mac & Cheese is fantastic, and I'll definitely be hunting them down to have that again. The cheesesteak was pretty good: the meat was pretty good and not at all greasy. I would have liked the cheesesteak to have been a little bit bigger and to have been served cut in half. I went with a group of 8 (that I organized). Between us, we tried all of the sandwiches on the menu. All but the Po Boy got rave reviews. Next time, I'll likely get the Rueben.

Thursday, I took a crew of 8 (slight overlap with the previous group) to chase down my favorite food truck: Wicked 'Wich. My favorite sandwich, the "Heinz 'Cardiac' Ward" was on the list of specials, but I chose to try out the "That Dog is Poison" which is their homemade kolbassi covered in the "almost famous" chili and cheddar on a hoagie roll. I enjoyed the chili, but the kolbassi needed some spice. One of the guys in our group added some hot coppa to the sandwich. Sounds like it helped it quite a bit.

Running
I took most of the week off to recover from the holiday weekends (I did two long runs both Christmas and New Year's weekend), but I did go out for a 75 minute "jog" on Saturday. I covered 6.82 miles at a 11:01 avg min/mi pace. 11:00 min/mi has been my average pace for the past few runs, so it looks like that's my standard long run pace. I completed the first 10K of the run at 68:18, so unless I get faster in the next couple weeks, I expect my Super Bowl 10K time to be around 65 minutes.

Miscellaneous
Big wind gusts yesterday blew most of the remaining leaves out of the surrounding trees, so hopefully I have completed my last long raking session of the season. Nicely, the gust left the leaves in pretty good piles around the yard, but getting all of the piles into bags still took almost two hours.

I put together rules/formulas for a "way too complicated" UFC fantasy league this week. Tried to come up with a pick'em league concept that assigned more points to the more interesting fights, gave bonuses for picking underdogs, and allowed for additional wagering on how a fight was going to be finished. I guess I should know in a month or so if the rules were a success or an epic failure. I'm sure I'll post a bit about the league.