I Am...

I have been very busy these past couple of weeks. You see, I am also a full time student, I work full time and I have a wife and three kids. Wheww. I discovered something Monday though that I wanted to share. I am no longer trying to reach some fitness goal. I am not running to get in shape. I am in shape. I am fit. Monday morning I ran for an hour non stop - I have done this again, and previously on a treadmill, but this was the first time had done it outside. Somewhere towards the middle of the second half I realized that I was no longer running as a means to an end - I have achieved something. You are healthy when you can run for an hour, you are fit when you can run for an hour.
I know that there is so much yet to be accomplished and I will not stop working towards my goals. I must remember to stop and be excityed for what I have accomplished. I started just over 6 months ago and I could not run a lick. I started with one-minute intervals and I just ran for an hour. If I can do that, I can do anything. So often I tend to approach a goal and begin to set the next one. Just like I did with this triathlon gig. I am already looking towards the next horizon. But, unless I can learn to live in the moment and appreciate where I am, I will never be happy.
I have discovered that my nipples hurt and burn sometimes when I run. For years I have been out of shape and my nipples are actually "innies." However, when I run they become erect and rub on the inside of my t-shirt and really hurt and become extremely sensitive after a run - to the point that the hot water in the shower is uncomfortable. So... today I went to Wal~Mart and purchased some wife-beaters a size too small to hold everything tight under my t-shirts as I run. I hope this helps.
On another note: today was the second to last stage of Le Tour de France. It was the individual time trial. This is the first year that I have watched even a second of Le Tour. I watched as a man from Australia secured his place in the record books by taking the lead from the Schleck brothers. By tradition noone attacks the leader on the final stage, it has become a ride of triumph. I wonder if anyone will even break this unwritten rule and ride for the jersey on the last stage. I wonder if it were me, could I let that chance slip past me without giving it my all? This is the question of life isn't it really? Will I let someone else's interpretation of life determine my actions? Or will I take my life into my own capable hands and make something of it? Just a few thoughts that have risen up in me. Enjoy your life and Happy Running!

My Food Problem

Help! I am eating way too much! I have got to get my food consumtion under control. I burn between 500-1000 calories each day and still don't lose any weight. I realize that I am closer to my goal weight but it has to do with my eating. I must... I must... I MUST get my eating under control.

Don't know how to post comments so... Here is a response to a couple of comments posted previously

Here is a link to a web site where you can download the C25K app that I recommend. The main reason that I recommedn this app is because it states in the description that it work for iPhone and iPod touch. The actual app that I used when I did the program doesn't say that it will work for the iPod Touch. Plus Bluefin has a Bridge to 10K app and teh next step a Half-marathon app. Here is the link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/c25k-couch-to-5k/id301233668?mt=8 . I have been having trouble figuring out how to post comments. I have previously figured it out at least once because there is a comment above that I posted but when I post a comment I am prompted to log-in even though I am already logged in. I hope this will work this time.

July 9, 2011 9:50 AM

Two in a row! - 5 weeks out from Tiger Tri

Today wasw a milestone on my quest for endurance strength. I put two of the events together in a row. I woke up this morning and cycled 11 miles at a nice leisurely pace. I completed the 11 miles in 53 minutes which seems to be my normal time right now. I got home and headed out for a 5K run. I have found that for the bike ride I can't use my Jaybird SB2 Sports Band (you can check them out here: http://www.jaybirdgear.com/sb2/ - I love them). I cant use them with my cycling helmet so I take my iPhone out of its otterbox and put it into one of those arm armbands and use the earbuds that come with iPhones/iPods. These actually don't fit all the way into my ears and allow me to be able to hear traffic and are comfortable enough. But when I run they tend to bounce out of my ear and for some reason they iPhone bouncing on my arm makes the bluetooth connection or the sound skip. So I had to turn the bluetooth on and take the thing off of my arm and put my iPhone in my pocket and put my sportaband on.
So when you includ a little hydration and making sure that my bike wasd safely on my front porch the whole transition took just under 5 minutes. Right now I am not extremely interested in my transition time I am interested in the ability to complete the events back-to-back. Somewhere about 2 miles into my run I found myself focused on the end and I realized that I was doing it and it didn't matter if I completed the 5k or I decided to walk I had already done something incredible. I went from 300+ pounds to a guy who could ride a bike for 11 miles and then run for 2 miles without stopping. Whether I stopped right there or I ran all the way home would not affect my opinion of whether or not I was successful. I am a success and no one can take that away from me.
I was actually surprised that having cycled the entire 11 miles did not affect my time on the run. I completed the 5K in about the same amount of time as I did last monday when I hadn't ridden first. I ran the 5K in just about 34 minutes. Actually the route that I run from my house is a little over 3.25 miles and I did it in 34 minutes. I expected my run to be a little slower but my pace seems to be a little over 5.5 miles/hour or 11 minute mile. Enjoy your weekend and Happy Running!

Running in the clouds

This morning I was glad to see that it was pretty cool outside before I left for my run. You see I run at 5 O'Clock in the morning and even that early it can be a little warm in early July in Mid-Missouri. But the famous saying 'round these parts is: (If you're from the Midwest you can join in, if you want) "It's not the heat - it's the humidity!" On my iPhone Weather Channel App I saw that it was 100% humidity. I looked at the radar and it was not supposed to rain, so I ventured out. Running has become my haven, my escape, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. I turned on the MapMyRun App to track my route and distance and the Bridge to 10K app to tell me when to run and when to walk. I then selected my favorite running playlist, which is made up of relaxing , distracting music like they would play for a yoga session or a massage. this music allows my to escaoe my thoughts, and focus on being me and on running. When the running is too much I can escape into my mind. When my mind is too much, I can escape into my running.
A block down the road my senses had come alive as I could actually feel the water droplets against my skin. Feeling the dew or fog all around me made me think of coulds. I felt like I was running in a cloud and it was one of the best feelings that I can remember.
Of course, by the end of the run all of my clothes were completely soaked and there was sweat running down my arms. Today I ran farther than ever before - 5.60 miles. When I told my daughter that I had run that far she accused me of adding the last zero just to make it sound farther. It does sound far - five point six zero miles. That just seems far!
They say that above 70% humidity sweat does not evaporate and short-circuits the body's cooling system. All that meant for me to day was that I burnt a few more calories and running in that could made it all worth while!
See you next time! Happy Running!

The Fourth of July

What a weekend. Saturday I got my Personal Fitness Trainer's certificate in the mail. I studied for three months through the National Exercise & Sports Trainer's Association (NESTA). Getting the certificate was quite a thrill. I have no clue what I will do with it. I definitely can use the information to help me train for my events, but maybe I can use it to help someone else obtain their goals. To go from an extremely overweight person to someone that is certified to train other people is amazing! Whod'a thunk it?

Today was the Firecracker 5K held in my local town. It started at the high school track and travelled around town and back for another lap around the track to complete. I found the pressure of participating in an event to be more than I expected. Somehow, when I run in the morning, it doesn't feel the I am being pushed. This morning's run - although I didn't seem to run much faster than I usually do - was quite a challenge! I completed the 5K in just under 34 minutes. I will look to improve this time before the Triathlon. All-in-all this was a great weekend for fitness.

July 2 - 6 weeks out from the Tiger Tri

Well, here I am six weeks from my first triathlon. This morning I decided to try to stack two events back-to-back. I cycled 11 miles and then attempted to run. I am still trying to put together a routine that encourages endurance and growth. I stretched my inner thighs a little too much Thursday and found that I did not have what it takes at this moment to run the 5K after completing the bike ride. I will rest and then head to the pool to get my swim on. I think I will reexamine the training regimine that I have established. I am intending to run three mornings and cycle two mornings during the week. I can only swim on Saturdays. I have 5 Saturdays left to swim, cycle and run. This may just be more work than I thought when I signed up for this.

Bridge 2 10K

After Couch to 5K came the next step in my journey - The Bridge to 10K. Picking up where C25K left off, B210K starts with 4 ten minute runs separated by one minute walks. The program takes six weeks to increase that to running 60 minutes without stopping. I also completed this on the treadmill at the gym. I recently started over and am finding the unencumbered joy of running outside and truly enjoy hitting the streets of my town and the country roads in my area at 5 in the morning. Watching the sun rise and hearing the birds chirping has become something that makes the fact that I am sweating and pushing myself easier to take. Running is not the torture that I once thought it was. There is actually something freeing and independent involved with it. I can't believe that I actually enjoy running or that I can actually do it.

Couch to 5K

Running - that intolerable exercise that separates the fit from the rest of us. There is no way that I can run a mile - or is there? This is where I started in late 2010 - unable to run, and convinced that I was doomed to stay there. That is until I found Couch To 5K. This program starts with the participant running for one minute at a time alternating with walks in workouts about a half hour in length. I timed the program's completion to coincide with my 40th birthday. A little at a time the program increases the run time and decreases the walk time until... Tah Dah in the final week you run for 30 minutes without stopping. Imagine my surprise and increase in self-esteem when I actually did it! Of course, I did the whole thing on a treadmill in the gym early in the morning throughout the winter.But I did it!

My Journey - Fat to Fit? - Meet your author

Well, where to start? In order to understand my journey I will have to take you back a few years. I'm a regular guy, I'm 40 years old and I have never been what anyone would consider gifted when it comes to athletics. Although I did play on tee-ball, soccer, and baseball teams as a child, my greatest draw in the world of sports was the three years that I swam on a swim team in Southern Maryland. We trained in several strokes and had to learn all of the strokes, my main stroke was the breaststroke (the one that looks a little like a frog). I tried to do this stroke last week the first time that I went swimming and felt muscles in my groin area and base of my torso that I didn't even know that I had.
After the fifth grade I fell away from participating in any sports at all. I began to put on weight and have struggled with my weight ever since. I did not play any sports in High School and fell into recreational drugs. Twenty years later I got clean and found myself eating even more. I used to joke: "I'm in shape. Round is a shape!" I thought that I was funny, but - in all actuality - I was using humor to deflect my trouble I was having with my body image. In psychology they talk about something called a set point. A set point is the weight that your body will maintain if you don't do anything to gain or lose weight. I discovered that mine was 302 lbs.
I weighed 302 lbs and decided to do something about it. I lost 30 pounds over a period of a bout a year several years ago. I always said that I lostr 50 lbs of fat and gained 20 lbs of muscle. This is where I made great advances in my ideas about health. However, after getting married, I fell back into bad habits and gained the weight back. Returning to - you guessed it - 302 pounds.
January 2010 I started my quest for health at Three Hundred and two pounds! Within the first six minutes I dropped 60 lbs.
I started 2011 at 242 and have dropped to right around 217. I have looked into this topic and have discovered a range in what is considered an ideal weight for me. The basic range fluctuates between 170 (eek) and 190. And, since I always want to be the top in everything that I do, my goal weight is 190 lbs. This means that I still have about 25 pounds to drop until I have reached my "ideal weight."