Last night my wife and I got back from our vacation at 11:30 and finally got to bed around midnight. We had to wake up pretty early to go to a graduation thing for my wife this afternoon. Between the heat, humidity, and lack of sleep, we were both pretty tired.
After the graduation thing (where my wife was given an award!) we went for a walk in the city with her parents. I was dripping sweat, which really helped with my water consumption for today. I was parched when I got home. We took a break for a while to see when the heat would break a little and then went out to play tennis.
We played for about an hour. I'm pretty sure I lost about 7 pounds of sweat during the games. My t-shirt was drenched. I wish I had pictures for proof. It was difficult to run around too much because of my calf. I wish I had tried a different form of exercise today, but I really enjoyed playing tennis with my wife.
In less than two weeks I have signed up for a 64 mile bike ride with my wife, brother, and friend. We will be riding on some decent hills. I'm a little concerned about it, since my calf is messed up and the furthest I've ridden this season so far was just under 42 miles and it took 3 hours. Not such a great speed. When I start getting worried about THIS ride, I remember that the four of us will also be doing a 175 mile ride in two days on September 24th and 25th. 100 miles in the first day alone. Luckily, those miles are through NJ and relatively flat. I am happy go have some mileage goals, though, because they will help me focus on my training.
Tomorrow is actual graduation day for my wife. I'm not sure what the plans are afterwords, but I'm hoping to get a workout in afterwords. If I'm lucky, the heat will be gone and there will still be daylight when I get home so I might be able to grab a ride!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Start of Week 4
Today is Memorial Day. I'm on the last day of vacation before going home to celebrate my wife's graduation from her Physical Therapy program. She graduates on Wednesday (Day 23 for those who are keeping track). Tomorrow is a celebration with her class in the afternoon and then my in-laws are in town, so who knows what's going on after the celebration.
I weighed in this morning at 268. That's an increase of 0.5 pounds since last week. Am I upset? No. Why not? Because I probably should have gained a lot more than that! We had friends down for the last few days of vacation and I was drinking much more than I needed to. It is what it is, though. I knew I was going to be drinking when I was coming into this vacation and I thought that at best I'd be on track to meet my goal. Instead, I'm behind by a pound, but a pound is nothing. I am confident I can catch up again.
Here's the good news. Despite the amount I was drinking, I maintained relatively good eating habits. I found that I'm not just getting bored and searching for food as much as I used to. I am eating when I get hungry, just a little bit, and then I'm fine for a few hours. Even now, as I write, it's after 6:00 at night and I had a sandwich at 4:30 when we got off the beach. I'm not even hungry! Now, I confess that we went for a walk and got some fudge, but that's not very satiating, and I haven't had much. I'm also not all that interested in drinking today. Not that I went so overboard the last few nights that the thought of another drink makes me sick, I just don't feel like it today. Water sounds fine, although there is some juice in the fridge that's got my name on it before we leave the beach house.
Here's the bad news. I'm injured. I know for sure now. I just haven't given my calf a chance to heal. This means I've gotta take about a week off from running, which is disappointing because for the first time in my life I'm actually enjoying it. What are my alternatives? Cycling, maybe. I'm going to try it out tomorrow if I get some time. If not, I guess I'll have to get over to the YMCA and hit the pool for a while.
I knew I was hurt when I was out for a run with my wife yesterday. We were at mile 1.5, about, and I pulled up because my calf was hurting a lot. I tried to get back going, but by the end of my run, about 3 miles, I had stopped to walk numerous times and I was limping. I iced the calf and took it easy today, but it was still really bothering me, even to walk, especially on the beach. I'll see how this thing pans out, but I'm hopeful that the cycling will work out.
Here are my pictures for the week... probably not much change since last week.
I weighed in this morning at 268. That's an increase of 0.5 pounds since last week. Am I upset? No. Why not? Because I probably should have gained a lot more than that! We had friends down for the last few days of vacation and I was drinking much more than I needed to. It is what it is, though. I knew I was going to be drinking when I was coming into this vacation and I thought that at best I'd be on track to meet my goal. Instead, I'm behind by a pound, but a pound is nothing. I am confident I can catch up again.
Here's the good news. Despite the amount I was drinking, I maintained relatively good eating habits. I found that I'm not just getting bored and searching for food as much as I used to. I am eating when I get hungry, just a little bit, and then I'm fine for a few hours. Even now, as I write, it's after 6:00 at night and I had a sandwich at 4:30 when we got off the beach. I'm not even hungry! Now, I confess that we went for a walk and got some fudge, but that's not very satiating, and I haven't had much. I'm also not all that interested in drinking today. Not that I went so overboard the last few nights that the thought of another drink makes me sick, I just don't feel like it today. Water sounds fine, although there is some juice in the fridge that's got my name on it before we leave the beach house.
Here's the bad news. I'm injured. I know for sure now. I just haven't given my calf a chance to heal. This means I've gotta take about a week off from running, which is disappointing because for the first time in my life I'm actually enjoying it. What are my alternatives? Cycling, maybe. I'm going to try it out tomorrow if I get some time. If not, I guess I'll have to get over to the YMCA and hit the pool for a while.
I knew I was hurt when I was out for a run with my wife yesterday. We were at mile 1.5, about, and I pulled up because my calf was hurting a lot. I tried to get back going, but by the end of my run, about 3 miles, I had stopped to walk numerous times and I was limping. I iced the calf and took it easy today, but it was still really bothering me, even to walk, especially on the beach. I'll see how this thing pans out, but I'm hopeful that the cycling will work out.
Here are my pictures for the week... probably not much change since last week.
Oh. I also got a little sun burnt.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 19 & 20
I knew it was going to happen. There would come a day when I didn't post every day. That's ok, I guess, as long as I'm continuing to make progress and people continue to read my blog! Instead of blogging about what I've done over the last two days, I think I'm going to write about my thoughts over the last two days...
I've been at the beach on vacation since Wednesday of this week which has given me a lot of extra time to soul search and think about my goals. I realized that for the last few days... maybe even a week... I haven't posted anything about my water intake. Don't get me wrong, I've still been drinking plenty of water and I'm tracking my intake to the 2 liter mark, but I'm not really all that conscious about it anymore. For the purpose of posting and tracking, I'm remembering the fact that I'm supposed to be drinking 2 liters a day so I back track in my mind to figure out how much I've had to that point then figure out what more I need to drink and make sure that I do, but I don't wake up planning to drink water anymore, it just happens.
I guess that the article was right in that it doesn't take 90 days to create a good habit, rather, it may take many more or many less days. I think that drinking water has become a habit. I'm constantly aware of my hydration levels and work really hard to make sure I stay hydrated. It doesn't matter, really, how much I've had to drink as long as I'm hydrated. I've found that I feel much better when I'm hydrated, so I want to keep that as a part of my life from here on out.
I'm also really enjoying my workouts. I didn't bring a bike to the beach, but I'm continuing to run and play tennis. Tennis is great, and I'm finding that my runs are going much better than they used to despite being ridiculously humid no matter the time of day I go out. I LOVE having a partner to run with (my beautiful wife). She pushes me when we're out and I know that she can do anything that I can do, and more.
My alcohol intake, like I stated a few days ago, hasn't been what I would expect for my goals, meaning I'm drinking more than I should, but I'm monitoring my weight and working out hard to make up for the booze. I'm enjoying my vacation, and as long as I continue to meet my long term goals, I don't see a problem with enjoying myself.
The most important thing that I need to remember and keep telling myself is that this process is working. As Bob Harper, one of the trainers on NBC's The Biggest Loser has famously said, "Believe in yourself, trust the process, change forever."
I've been at the beach on vacation since Wednesday of this week which has given me a lot of extra time to soul search and think about my goals. I realized that for the last few days... maybe even a week... I haven't posted anything about my water intake. Don't get me wrong, I've still been drinking plenty of water and I'm tracking my intake to the 2 liter mark, but I'm not really all that conscious about it anymore. For the purpose of posting and tracking, I'm remembering the fact that I'm supposed to be drinking 2 liters a day so I back track in my mind to figure out how much I've had to that point then figure out what more I need to drink and make sure that I do, but I don't wake up planning to drink water anymore, it just happens.
I guess that the article was right in that it doesn't take 90 days to create a good habit, rather, it may take many more or many less days. I think that drinking water has become a habit. I'm constantly aware of my hydration levels and work really hard to make sure I stay hydrated. It doesn't matter, really, how much I've had to drink as long as I'm hydrated. I've found that I feel much better when I'm hydrated, so I want to keep that as a part of my life from here on out.
I'm also really enjoying my workouts. I didn't bring a bike to the beach, but I'm continuing to run and play tennis. Tennis is great, and I'm finding that my runs are going much better than they used to despite being ridiculously humid no matter the time of day I go out. I LOVE having a partner to run with (my beautiful wife). She pushes me when we're out and I know that she can do anything that I can do, and more.
My alcohol intake, like I stated a few days ago, hasn't been what I would expect for my goals, meaning I'm drinking more than I should, but I'm monitoring my weight and working out hard to make up for the booze. I'm enjoying my vacation, and as long as I continue to meet my long term goals, I don't see a problem with enjoying myself.
The most important thing that I need to remember and keep telling myself is that this process is working. As Bob Harper, one of the trainers on NBC's The Biggest Loser has famously said, "Believe in yourself, trust the process, change forever."
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day 18
I forgot to post last night because I was having such a great time with my wife on vacation! We got up and walked to breakfast. After that we went to a farm stand to grab some produce for the rest of the week/weekend and then walked home. I hopped on the computer and mapped out a run for us. It was a little over 4 miles, but we ended up not finishing.
When we left, the sun had already gotten pretty hot and it was a relatively humid day. We ran the first two miles or so and then hit the beach to run back home. Running on the beach is significantly more difficult than running on asphalt, but I was up for the challenge... before we left the house. Once we hit the beach, with the slope of the sand towards the water, it was too much for my legs.
I have a little bit of an injury that I'm trying to get over, but it's been nagging me since Sunday. My wife, the physical therapist, tells me I've injured the lateral head of the gastroc. For those of us who speak normally, the outside upper part of my calf muscle. It's been sore, which I expect with an injury like this, but it also has been shooting warmth down my entire calf muscle, which is very strange.
When we were trying to run on the beach, the slope was really putting a lot of pressure on that part of my leg, and since the waves had already tried to eat my feet, we took our shoes off and walked home. My wife went down to the beach without me for about an hour, and then made some dessert stuff for when our friends come to visit us this afternoon through the rest of the weekend. When she was done we grabbed a few beers and sat out on the roof deck of the beach house and enjoyed the weather and had some great conversations. I miss that.
For dinner, my mom and step-dad hooked us up with a gift card to the restaurant that we went to after I proposed. They said it was for our first year anniversary that is coming up in about two weeks. It was really nice. We split a bottle of wine at dinner. We even walked to and from the restaurant.
One of my favorite things about being down here is that we can walk pretty much everywhere we need to get to. We walked to breakfast, we walked to the farm stand, we walked to dinner, we even went for a run. This is something I want to transfer into my every day life, but unfortunately, I can't walk or even ride my bike to work... maybe when we move.
When we left, the sun had already gotten pretty hot and it was a relatively humid day. We ran the first two miles or so and then hit the beach to run back home. Running on the beach is significantly more difficult than running on asphalt, but I was up for the challenge... before we left the house. Once we hit the beach, with the slope of the sand towards the water, it was too much for my legs.
I have a little bit of an injury that I'm trying to get over, but it's been nagging me since Sunday. My wife, the physical therapist, tells me I've injured the lateral head of the gastroc. For those of us who speak normally, the outside upper part of my calf muscle. It's been sore, which I expect with an injury like this, but it also has been shooting warmth down my entire calf muscle, which is very strange.
When we were trying to run on the beach, the slope was really putting a lot of pressure on that part of my leg, and since the waves had already tried to eat my feet, we took our shoes off and walked home. My wife went down to the beach without me for about an hour, and then made some dessert stuff for when our friends come to visit us this afternoon through the rest of the weekend. When she was done we grabbed a few beers and sat out on the roof deck of the beach house and enjoyed the weather and had some great conversations. I miss that.
For dinner, my mom and step-dad hooked us up with a gift card to the restaurant that we went to after I proposed. They said it was for our first year anniversary that is coming up in about two weeks. It was really nice. We split a bottle of wine at dinner. We even walked to and from the restaurant.
One of my favorite things about being down here is that we can walk pretty much everywhere we need to get to. We walked to breakfast, we walked to the farm stand, we walked to dinner, we even went for a run. This is something I want to transfer into my every day life, but unfortunately, I can't walk or even ride my bike to work... maybe when we move.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day 17
This morning my wife and I got up and packed the car before starting out drive down to the beach for a long weekend. We made a few stops along the way to check out some apartments for when we move in October/November of this year. Both places were nice enough, one better than the other, but we're still keeping our options open for now.
With all of the stops and a little bit of traffic, the drive took about 4 hours total. This gave us a lot of time to talk and catch up since she was away most of last week and worked most of the weekend. We talked about how I'm progressing with this 90 day thing. She's been really supportive. We talked about how I feel and what changes I'm seeing. I've found that I have more energy. I'm excited about working out, even when I choose not to for physical reasons.
Once we got into the house and unpacked, we went down to the beach to relax a while. It was nice for us to be there together because that was the beach that we said, "I love you" on and it was the beach that I proposed to her on. We spent a while down there reminiscing about our time at this beach and enjoying the view.
When we went back to the house, we changed and went to get my workout in for the day. We grabbed our tennis rackets and went out for a game. We played two games, best of 7, after volleying for a while. I had a great workout and then we went to grab some groceries for the 5 days we'll be down at the beach house. For dinner, we grilled (I miss having constant access to a grill). I plan on getting some great runs in down here and am hoping that my celebrating doesn't cost me my weight loss for the week!
With all of the stops and a little bit of traffic, the drive took about 4 hours total. This gave us a lot of time to talk and catch up since she was away most of last week and worked most of the weekend. We talked about how I'm progressing with this 90 day thing. She's been really supportive. We talked about how I feel and what changes I'm seeing. I've found that I have more energy. I'm excited about working out, even when I choose not to for physical reasons.
Once we got into the house and unpacked, we went down to the beach to relax a while. It was nice for us to be there together because that was the beach that we said, "I love you" on and it was the beach that I proposed to her on. We spent a while down there reminiscing about our time at this beach and enjoying the view.
When we went back to the house, we changed and went to get my workout in for the day. We grabbed our tennis rackets and went out for a game. We played two games, best of 7, after volleying for a while. I had a great workout and then we went to grab some groceries for the 5 days we'll be down at the beach house. For dinner, we grilled (I miss having constant access to a grill). I plan on getting some great runs in down here and am hoping that my celebrating doesn't cost me my weight loss for the week!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day 16
Another boring day. I spent most of the day working and am taking the day off from a workout because my legs need a rest. I'm not overly sore, but my right calf has been tight since Sunday afternoon and so I'll take the break. Here's the kicker, though. I don't want one. All I was thinking about on my drive home this evening was, "I want to go for a run." Normally, I'd take the opportunity to run when I actually feel like it, but I'm enjoying it more and more so I think I'll take the break when my body tells me to.
I used to hate running. I hated it more than any other form of exercise. I'm not sure if it was the book I just finished reading, "Born to Run" (and no that's not a Bruce Springsteen book), or if it's just that I'm really into this whole transformation thing and have started to enjoy exercise. Period. But why analyze it if it's working for me, right?
If it is the book, here are some words of inspiration that I marked off while reading it...
I'm no runner. I don't focus on it as much as I would need to in order to be one. I'd like to hope I'm a Tarzan. The Train is a Tarzan. I'm working towards that more and more every day.
Well if I'm born to do it... :-)
I used to hate running. I hated it more than any other form of exercise. I'm not sure if it was the book I just finished reading, "Born to Run" (and no that's not a Bruce Springsteen book), or if it's just that I'm really into this whole transformation thing and have started to enjoy exercise. Period. But why analyze it if it's working for me, right?
If it is the book, here are some words of inspiration that I marked off while reading it...
"'The Tarahumara aren't great runners,' Eric messaged me as we began my second month of those workouts. 'They're great athletes, and those two things are very different.' Runners are assembly-line workers; they become good at one thing-moving straight ahead at a steady speed-and repeat that motion until overuse fritzes out the machinery. Athletes are Tarzans. Tarzan swims and wrestles and jumps and swings on vines. He's strong and explosive. You never know what Tarzan will do next, which is why he never gets hurt."
I'm no runner. I don't focus on it as much as I would need to in order to be one. I'd like to hope I'm a Tarzan. The Train is a Tarzan. I'm working towards that more and more every day.
"'So simple,' he said. 'Just move your legs. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history. You're denying who you are.'"
Well if I'm born to do it... :-)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 15
Short post today just to keep the blog updated, but it's late and I just got home.
I spent most of my day at work in the office. When I finished I ran to see a client for an hour and then left to go to an Ultimate Frisbee game. I was drinking water all morning and did very well on that goal. When I left my last client to go to Frisbee, I realized after I was most of the way to the field that I forgot to pack shorts.
Crap.
So I turned around and went to Target and got a the cheapest pair of shorts I could find. I got to the field, changed, went and found my team, and then warmed up a little bit. I realized about 5 minutes before the game was supposed to start that I had to pee really bad. So I ran about a quarter mile over to the building that we're supposed to use for the bathroom. With the humidity today, I was dripping by the time I was half way there. Ugh. I made it back for the first pull. I spent a decent amount of time on the sideline because there are a lot of people on the team and pretty much everyone is faster than I am. I did make a few defensive stops and played fairly well. The most important thing was that I had fun playing a sport that I really love. We lost 11-15 or something like that. It was pretty close.
After the game my team went to a brew pub for drinks. I didn't have one. I wasn't ready to lose a day this early in the week, especially with Memorial Day weekend coming up. I'll tell you what, though, it wasn't as hard to not drink as I thought it would be. I can't remember the last time I was out to a bar and didn't have a drink. Maybe there is something to this 90 day habit forming period. I certainly don't mind drinking water anymore and I can control my drinking pretty well at this point. I'm pretty proud of myself today.
I spent most of my day at work in the office. When I finished I ran to see a client for an hour and then left to go to an Ultimate Frisbee game. I was drinking water all morning and did very well on that goal. When I left my last client to go to Frisbee, I realized after I was most of the way to the field that I forgot to pack shorts.
Crap.
So I turned around and went to Target and got a the cheapest pair of shorts I could find. I got to the field, changed, went and found my team, and then warmed up a little bit. I realized about 5 minutes before the game was supposed to start that I had to pee really bad. So I ran about a quarter mile over to the building that we're supposed to use for the bathroom. With the humidity today, I was dripping by the time I was half way there. Ugh. I made it back for the first pull. I spent a decent amount of time on the sideline because there are a lot of people on the team and pretty much everyone is faster than I am. I did make a few defensive stops and played fairly well. The most important thing was that I had fun playing a sport that I really love. We lost 11-15 or something like that. It was pretty close.
After the game my team went to a brew pub for drinks. I didn't have one. I wasn't ready to lose a day this early in the week, especially with Memorial Day weekend coming up. I'll tell you what, though, it wasn't as hard to not drink as I thought it would be. I can't remember the last time I was out to a bar and didn't have a drink. Maybe there is something to this 90 day habit forming period. I certainly don't mind drinking water anymore and I can control my drinking pretty well at this point. I'm pretty proud of myself today.
Week 3 Start
I spent last night sitting on the bed with my wife playing a game of Banana Grams. I was going to just get ready for bed and sit there with my shirt off, but I felt uncomfortable. That's a little silly since it was just me and my wife sitting together and playing a game together. Her visual attention wasn't even going to be directly on me! Why was I so uncomfortable? I feel sloppy. After such a great week, you would think that I'd feel better about myself than that. I guess I felt a little better last night than I did two weeks ago, but still I don't feel great about the way my body looks or feels.
But I felt better this morning when I saw these...
But I felt better this morning when I saw these...
The pictures on the left are the before pictures at 273lbs. The ones on the right are from last night at 267.5lbs. I can see the difference much better in the side view, and it's reaching a little, but it's there. The fat on my middle stomach and the roll at the bottom look reduced, my chest looks better, I see less fat behind my arm and on my back... and they say you can't see it until you've lost 10 pounds...
THIS is the kind of thing that is going to keep my motivated. I love that my wife is staff photographer and taking care of these pictures for me, because they really show what we can't see. We both look at my body on a daily basis, so these little changes would be impossible to see.
This week is going to be challenging for me. My wife and I are meeting some friends down at the beach and because it's memorial day, I plan on consuming a few beverages and will probably not meet the goal for the week as far as alcohol goes. But I set the goals with some wiggle room for this reason. Memorial Day, my wedding anniversary, and my birthday all occur during these 90 days. I expect to have some days when I go over the limits I set for myself, but as long as I'm doing it responsibly and on very few occasions, I don't see why I shouldn't be able to enjoy myself.
I still plan on working out hard. We have decided not to bring our bikes to the beach with us because we're stopping to look at some apartments along the way. I'm not sure about the towns we'll be in the whole way, and I don't want to see my favorite form of exercise taken off the back of my car, so I will go without for the week. We will be bringing tennis rackets and running clothes, so I hope to get a lot of workouts in that way. I'm hoping to get WiFi set up at the beach house this week too, so I should still be able to do my updates!
Have a great week and keep checking back for updates and words of inspiration and wisdom that I collect along my journey!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Day 14: End of Week 2
Relatively productive day today. I woke up and went to church then spent most of the afternoon cleaning out my drawers and closet of clothes that don't fit or I don't wear. My wife had the idea to put clothes that are too small and I want to wear into a box together so that I can open the box in a few months and start wearing it again. Great idea!
When I had enough of the cleaning and organizing, I went for a run. I didn't want to go out today because I thought my legs needed a rest, but if I didn't go today, I wouldn't meet my workout goal... so I went for a run. I actually went on mapmyrun.com and mapped out a 5k. I didn't time myself, but it felt slow. I had a few instances on the run where I felt like I should stop which is different than wanting to. My legs were cramping up hard core and my calf actually got hot twice. Weird. My wife had no idea what that was about and neither did I. The second time, I stopped to stretch for a few seconds then finished the run. Overall the run was good, but I wish my legs weren't so tight.
I want to take a moment to reflect on the past two weeks and on the goals that I have set for myself. I feel like I am starting to change. Physically, it's easy to see on the scale. When I do everything right, I'm losing weight, which is great, but ultimately that's not what this 90 days is all about. I set goals to drink more water, drink less alcohol, and workout more to improve myself. Drinking water is great because it makes me healthier. I still don't enjoy the taste, but I hate it much less. Drinking less alcohol is much easier now that I'm two weeks in than I thought it would be. Working out is pretty easy. I'm finding that I enjoy it more than I used to. Running is still not quite like a long bike ride, but it feels good to be able to say that I just ran 3 or 4 or 5 miles. I might even try to do a half marathon sometime. I don't think I would have even thought about running 5 miles four or five weeks ago.
This is the most outstanding thing to me about this week. I worked out five times. On Tuesday I ran 4.5 miles and enjoyed it. On Thursday I did serious Yoga for the first time and didn't hate it. Friday I ran 5 miles in the rain and loved it. Saturday I went on a bike ride for three hours and 42 miles. Today, I ran a 5k. Before starting this 90 days, there's no way I would have been able to log almost 13 miles of running in the same week!
When I had enough of the cleaning and organizing, I went for a run. I didn't want to go out today because I thought my legs needed a rest, but if I didn't go today, I wouldn't meet my workout goal... so I went for a run. I actually went on mapmyrun.com and mapped out a 5k. I didn't time myself, but it felt slow. I had a few instances on the run where I felt like I should stop which is different than wanting to. My legs were cramping up hard core and my calf actually got hot twice. Weird. My wife had no idea what that was about and neither did I. The second time, I stopped to stretch for a few seconds then finished the run. Overall the run was good, but I wish my legs weren't so tight.
I want to take a moment to reflect on the past two weeks and on the goals that I have set for myself. I feel like I am starting to change. Physically, it's easy to see on the scale. When I do everything right, I'm losing weight, which is great, but ultimately that's not what this 90 days is all about. I set goals to drink more water, drink less alcohol, and workout more to improve myself. Drinking water is great because it makes me healthier. I still don't enjoy the taste, but I hate it much less. Drinking less alcohol is much easier now that I'm two weeks in than I thought it would be. Working out is pretty easy. I'm finding that I enjoy it more than I used to. Running is still not quite like a long bike ride, but it feels good to be able to say that I just ran 3 or 4 or 5 miles. I might even try to do a half marathon sometime. I don't think I would have even thought about running 5 miles four or five weeks ago.
This is the most outstanding thing to me about this week. I worked out five times. On Tuesday I ran 4.5 miles and enjoyed it. On Thursday I did serious Yoga for the first time and didn't hate it. Friday I ran 5 miles in the rain and loved it. Saturday I went on a bike ride for three hours and 42 miles. Today, I ran a 5k. Before starting this 90 days, there's no way I would have been able to log almost 13 miles of running in the same week!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 13: Wrong Way
Wrong way. That's what I'm going to call the ride we did today. Last night I made arrangements to go ride with a friend of mine in his neck of the woods this afternoon. I drove down to his place, we hopped on our bikes, and off we went. The ride started a little rocky. My achilles tendons were both really sore from my run yesterday so the first 2 miles or so were spent trying to stretch those out. Once I had stretched them out and warmed up, things were looking good.
The route that my friend had planned quickly got thrown off course. Literally. We were supposed to cross a bridge that was out, so we had to continue down a road to find another way across the river. When we got there, we crossed, and it turned out the new route was really great! We had some slight hills to struggle over, but no big deal, really. I was enjoying myself and we were flying around the roads next to horse farms, big fields, and through trees that felt like tunnels. We were really excited to be finding some new roads to head out on with beautiful views.
The first wrong turn wasn't so much a wrong turn as it was we were lost. We ended up riding to a town very far south of where we had thought we were. I was concerned about how much water we had left, so we stopped at a Rite Aid to grab some water and ask directions. I got 3L of water to share with my buddy and asked the girl at the counter which way we needed to go. She had no idea. I can't blame her, she looked like she was about 14. She called her manager to come help me, who gave me a general direction which was all we needed. Wrong.
Our second wrong turn was when we decided to back track to find our way back home. We decided to avoid a bridge that we had gone over on the way to Rite Aid and go right. That road turned into gravel. We tried to go through it, but about a quarter mile in, it didn't look like it was going to change so we turned around and went back to the bridge we tried to avoid and back tracked farther.
Our third wrong turn occurred when we took a road to avoid a hill. Although the road we took ended up becoming a hill. When we got to the top of the hill, which must have been a mile long or so, we came up to a highway and saw no way to go across or ride on it, so we tucked our tails between our legs and went back down to where we were and started back on the road we tried to avoid.
Our fourth wrong turn was by far the worst wrong turn. We climbed a 2 mile hill that had us suffering big time. We thought for sure this time we were on the right route home. It looked good and both of us knew for sure we were heading in the right direction. I got to the very top of this hill and saw a guy running, so I asked him for directions. He told me were were heading towards Wilmington, DE. Not exactly the small town in PA we were looking for. Shit. He gave me directions that included about 12 turns to find our way back. I thanked him just as my friend was finishing his ascent, and tried to relay the directions to my buddy. Remember, my friend doesn't know where we are, and since it's his neck of the woods, I have absolutely no idea where we are. So we head back down this monster hill, blowing past the runner and thanking him again. Once we got to the bottom, we make a turn and end up right where we had started the hell. Great. We find a numbered road that I had heard the runner mention, and followed it a little bit. My friend wasn't too sure about where we were headed, so he went into a garden store to ask for directions. When he heard them, he knew exactly how to get home, but we ended up going another 5-7 miles to get back home.
Oh well. The moral of the story, I guess, is to take the challenges that come rather than avoiding them... it just makes things twice as hard.
Ride stats:
Time: 3:00:08
Dist: 41.69
Avg Spd: 13.8
Max Spd: 35.8
The route that my friend had planned quickly got thrown off course. Literally. We were supposed to cross a bridge that was out, so we had to continue down a road to find another way across the river. When we got there, we crossed, and it turned out the new route was really great! We had some slight hills to struggle over, but no big deal, really. I was enjoying myself and we were flying around the roads next to horse farms, big fields, and through trees that felt like tunnels. We were really excited to be finding some new roads to head out on with beautiful views.
The first wrong turn wasn't so much a wrong turn as it was we were lost. We ended up riding to a town very far south of where we had thought we were. I was concerned about how much water we had left, so we stopped at a Rite Aid to grab some water and ask directions. I got 3L of water to share with my buddy and asked the girl at the counter which way we needed to go. She had no idea. I can't blame her, she looked like she was about 14. She called her manager to come help me, who gave me a general direction which was all we needed. Wrong.
Our second wrong turn was when we decided to back track to find our way back home. We decided to avoid a bridge that we had gone over on the way to Rite Aid and go right. That road turned into gravel. We tried to go through it, but about a quarter mile in, it didn't look like it was going to change so we turned around and went back to the bridge we tried to avoid and back tracked farther.
Our third wrong turn occurred when we took a road to avoid a hill. Although the road we took ended up becoming a hill. When we got to the top of the hill, which must have been a mile long or so, we came up to a highway and saw no way to go across or ride on it, so we tucked our tails between our legs and went back down to where we were and started back on the road we tried to avoid.
Our fourth wrong turn was by far the worst wrong turn. We climbed a 2 mile hill that had us suffering big time. We thought for sure this time we were on the right route home. It looked good and both of us knew for sure we were heading in the right direction. I got to the very top of this hill and saw a guy running, so I asked him for directions. He told me were were heading towards Wilmington, DE. Not exactly the small town in PA we were looking for. Shit. He gave me directions that included about 12 turns to find our way back. I thanked him just as my friend was finishing his ascent, and tried to relay the directions to my buddy. Remember, my friend doesn't know where we are, and since it's his neck of the woods, I have absolutely no idea where we are. So we head back down this monster hill, blowing past the runner and thanking him again. Once we got to the bottom, we make a turn and end up right where we had started the hell. Great. We find a numbered road that I had heard the runner mention, and followed it a little bit. My friend wasn't too sure about where we were headed, so he went into a garden store to ask for directions. When he heard them, he knew exactly how to get home, but we ended up going another 5-7 miles to get back home.
Oh well. The moral of the story, I guess, is to take the challenges that come rather than avoiding them... it just makes things twice as hard.
Ride stats:
Time: 3:00:08
Dist: 41.69
Avg Spd: 13.8
Max Spd: 35.8
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day 12: RAIN RUN!!!!
This morning I woke up for a training I had to go to for work. I ate a bowl of cereal and threw a clif bar in my pocket to bring with me, knowing full well that training would have breakfast pastries available for us. I resisted the temptation when I got there by walking right past the table, choosing a seat, and doing some paperwork until the training started.
On the way home, I stopped and grabbed a mix-six pack at Wegman's. While there, I saw a friend of mine, who is also a "beer geek." He told me he's seen my blog and that he's with me on the alcohol thing... quality over quantity. I ended up getting a Dogfish head 90 minute IPA, a Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, and 4 Belgians that I can't spell or pronounce. I'm looking forward to the beers, but I need to finish all of my water first.
When I got home, I was delighted to see that my wife was here! It was so good to see her. She'd been visiting her family since Monday, and I missed her a lot. She's been keeping up with my blog and was excited when she heard about my run the other day, so I asked her to go with me today.
We set out while it was drizzling lightly. I figured we'd get hit with a little harder rain, but it hadn't rained hard all day and I thought that it would probably either stop, or stay pretty steady. Incorrect. It got worse. Much worse. We were a little over a mile into our run when the sky opened up and just poured on us for the next half hour. It was actually kind of fun with the rain. I felt like we were the silly couple in the Michelob Ultra commercial running and jumping around each other. Except we were drenched and jumping over puddles and rivers crossing the trail we were on. My wife was convinced that the lakes we ran through had flesh eating bacteria or something, so when we got home we definitely washed our feet well.
While on the second to last road, my wife says that she wants to go farther. Oh crap. She said she was feeling good so I evaluated myself quickly. I felt ok, so why not? I'm up for a challenge. So we added an extra half mile, with a few hills. Worth it? Yes. Easy? No. I was spent. And here is what I looked like when we got back...
On the way home, I stopped and grabbed a mix-six pack at Wegman's. While there, I saw a friend of mine, who is also a "beer geek." He told me he's seen my blog and that he's with me on the alcohol thing... quality over quantity. I ended up getting a Dogfish head 90 minute IPA, a Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, and 4 Belgians that I can't spell or pronounce. I'm looking forward to the beers, but I need to finish all of my water first.
When I got home, I was delighted to see that my wife was here! It was so good to see her. She'd been visiting her family since Monday, and I missed her a lot. She's been keeping up with my blog and was excited when she heard about my run the other day, so I asked her to go with me today.
We set out while it was drizzling lightly. I figured we'd get hit with a little harder rain, but it hadn't rained hard all day and I thought that it would probably either stop, or stay pretty steady. Incorrect. It got worse. Much worse. We were a little over a mile into our run when the sky opened up and just poured on us for the next half hour. It was actually kind of fun with the rain. I felt like we were the silly couple in the Michelob Ultra commercial running and jumping around each other. Except we were drenched and jumping over puddles and rivers crossing the trail we were on. My wife was convinced that the lakes we ran through had flesh eating bacteria or something, so when we got home we definitely washed our feet well.
While on the second to last road, my wife says that she wants to go farther. Oh crap. She said she was feeling good so I evaluated myself quickly. I felt ok, so why not? I'm up for a challenge. So we added an extra half mile, with a few hills. Worth it? Yes. Easy? No. I was spent. And here is what I looked like when we got back...
And yes, my hand is white. Why? Because I spent my weekend on a bike with gloves on and I have cycling glove tan.
The plan for this evening is to catch up with my wife on the couch while we catch up with some of our TV shows that we missed this week while she was gone. Excited for the night in.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day 11
Not much for today. I have been trying to work extra hours to prevent using all of my PTO (paid time off) at work. My wife and I are going on vacation in the middle of next week and I'm hoping I can get most of my hours in before I leave so I either don't need to work during the vacation (which I probably will do anyway). I think this week I've clocked about 6 or so extra hours than I needed to... and it's only Thursday.
I got home around 8 and made myself some Brinner. That's right. Brinner. It's the best dinner there is. Breakfast for dinner. I had a big plate of hash browns, broccoli, eggs, cheese, and onion. YUM.
Although Brinner is not always in line with my fitness/weight loss goals, it's awesome. And to prove how awesome it is... enjoy this clip.
I got home around 8 and made myself some Brinner. That's right. Brinner. It's the best dinner there is. Breakfast for dinner. I had a big plate of hash browns, broccoli, eggs, cheese, and onion. YUM.
Although Brinner is not always in line with my fitness/weight loss goals, it's awesome. And to prove how awesome it is... enjoy this clip.
and then this one for giggles...
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Day 10: Namaste
Another work day, another challenge. I struggle with my water consumption more when I'm making a lot of face-time visits with clients because I don't feel comfortable drinking in front of them in their home. I also don't want to drink to the point where I have to pee every half hour since most of my appointments last a minimum of an hour, and typically two hours. I can't stand the thought of using a client's bathroom. So it took me until late to finish my water for the day.
As far as eating healthy, being out of the house is a double edged sword. I can pack a great lunch and eat healthy, but I start to get hungry and don't always have enough healthy snacks on hand. When that's the case, I either go hungry or resort to a pit stop at the Wawa. Wawa has healthy snacks, but it's difficult to choose the right stuff when there are bags of chips, cookies, candy, and whatever else floats your boat right there for your choosing. Today I got caramel apple slices and a string cheese. I was happy with that decision.
I got home later than I expected. A 30 minute appointment turned into almost two hours. When I finally left, I had to go to the grocery store to get some produce and cereal. I picked up a few items I shouldn't have, and put them back after making that realization. I should not be allowed to grocery shop. They always say to buy only from the outside. I picked up some apples, bananas, strawberries, hummus, and a box of Crispix. YUM. I love me some fruit and hummus... but not together.
When I got home, I had dinner, and then did my first Yoga lesson on Fit TV. I've done Yoga before when I tried P90X for a few weeks, but I haven't done it since. Yoga is HARD. Some of the positions weren't too bad. I enjoy the stretching more than the strengthening stuff, because my body weight makes it hard on the shoulders. But it was a good workout and I'm now sitting in a pool of sweat. It also helps to take the pain out of my legs from the run yesterday, so I hope tomorrow won't be too bad. The Yoga I did was Jillian Michael's lesson. She made a great point that goes for yoga, any other physical activity, and life in general...
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Namaste.
As far as eating healthy, being out of the house is a double edged sword. I can pack a great lunch and eat healthy, but I start to get hungry and don't always have enough healthy snacks on hand. When that's the case, I either go hungry or resort to a pit stop at the Wawa. Wawa has healthy snacks, but it's difficult to choose the right stuff when there are bags of chips, cookies, candy, and whatever else floats your boat right there for your choosing. Today I got caramel apple slices and a string cheese. I was happy with that decision.
I got home later than I expected. A 30 minute appointment turned into almost two hours. When I finally left, I had to go to the grocery store to get some produce and cereal. I picked up a few items I shouldn't have, and put them back after making that realization. I should not be allowed to grocery shop. They always say to buy only from the outside. I picked up some apples, bananas, strawberries, hummus, and a box of Crispix. YUM. I love me some fruit and hummus... but not together.
When I got home, I had dinner, and then did my first Yoga lesson on Fit TV. I've done Yoga before when I tried P90X for a few weeks, but I haven't done it since. Yoga is HARD. Some of the positions weren't too bad. I enjoy the stretching more than the strengthening stuff, because my body weight makes it hard on the shoulders. But it was a good workout and I'm now sitting in a pool of sweat. It also helps to take the pain out of my legs from the run yesterday, so I hope tomorrow won't be too bad. The Yoga I did was Jillian Michael's lesson. She made a great point that goes for yoga, any other physical activity, and life in general...
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Namaste.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Day 9
So I looked at the weather for this week to try to schedule some bike rides and this is what I saw...
Awesome.
Today went well otherwise. I have been eating well all day and finished my water goal early. I even got my work done by 4:00! Although my morning was relatively uneventful, I had a GREAT day despite missing my wife like crazy. When I was done working, I changed into running clothes, threw on my sneakers, grabbed a water bottle, and out the door I went.
I had mapped a 4-4.5 mile run. When I left I figured that I would see how I felt when I got to a spot that I could split off. The short way was on dangerous big roads while the longer one was on back roads. When I finished mile 2, I was going to turn right onto a bigger road for about a quarter mile or so. When I got to that point, I knew I'd have to cross the busy road to be on the correct side for running. I got up to the intersection and started slowing down, looked right, and there was a dirt running path! I was pretty excited to not have to be on the busy road, so I hopped on it. I knew where the other end was, but had no idea that the road I was on intersected with it. When I got a spot to get off the path, I decided I'd stay on it and see where it went. The path took me behind the local high school and near all of their athletic fields. I wasn't sure if it would just come to a dead end or bring me back to a road I knew, but I knew the general direction I wanted to go. While on that path, there was another smaller messier path to my left, the direction I needed to go, so I took it. There were boulders and mud and sticks through the entire path with low hanging wet branches from the rain today. I LOVED IT! I felt like a kid again running through the woods to capture the flag.
When I got to the end of the path, I was standing at a fence surrounding the high school track. I ran around the fence in the grass and found my way back to a road. The rest of the run was uneventful and kind of ho-hum, but I think I was smiling the whole way home.
I mapped the run when I got home and found that it was just about 4.5 miles. I didn't time it, but I came in under an hour.
Tonight my plan is to watch the Tour of California and play some video games with a friend while I eat healthy foods and drink plenty of fluids to rehydrate after a fun but sweaty run. It's humid today! I hope my wheels don't get rusty. ;-)
WOO WOO!!!!!
Awesome.
Today went well otherwise. I have been eating well all day and finished my water goal early. I even got my work done by 4:00! Although my morning was relatively uneventful, I had a GREAT day despite missing my wife like crazy. When I was done working, I changed into running clothes, threw on my sneakers, grabbed a water bottle, and out the door I went.
I had mapped a 4-4.5 mile run. When I left I figured that I would see how I felt when I got to a spot that I could split off. The short way was on dangerous big roads while the longer one was on back roads. When I finished mile 2, I was going to turn right onto a bigger road for about a quarter mile or so. When I got to that point, I knew I'd have to cross the busy road to be on the correct side for running. I got up to the intersection and started slowing down, looked right, and there was a dirt running path! I was pretty excited to not have to be on the busy road, so I hopped on it. I knew where the other end was, but had no idea that the road I was on intersected with it. When I got a spot to get off the path, I decided I'd stay on it and see where it went. The path took me behind the local high school and near all of their athletic fields. I wasn't sure if it would just come to a dead end or bring me back to a road I knew, but I knew the general direction I wanted to go. While on that path, there was another smaller messier path to my left, the direction I needed to go, so I took it. There were boulders and mud and sticks through the entire path with low hanging wet branches from the rain today. I LOVED IT! I felt like a kid again running through the woods to capture the flag.
When I got to the end of the path, I was standing at a fence surrounding the high school track. I ran around the fence in the grass and found my way back to a road. The rest of the run was uneventful and kind of ho-hum, but I think I was smiling the whole way home.
I mapped the run when I got home and found that it was just about 4.5 miles. I didn't time it, but I came in under an hour.
Tonight my plan is to watch the Tour of California and play some video games with a friend while I eat healthy foods and drink plenty of fluids to rehydrate after a fun but sweaty run. It's humid today! I hope my wheels don't get rusty. ;-)
WOO WOO!!!!!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Day 8
Fairly uneventful day. I spent most of it at work, sitting in the office, doing paperwork. I struggled today with my water intake because I didn't want to drink so much that I had to pee at a client's house. That's the worst. I've been working in this type of job for years and I have NEVER used a client's bathroom. I'd like to keep it that way. I did meet the goal, though, for water intake. I got home very late tonight, unfortunately I wasn't able to work out as a result. I'm planning on at least one workout tomorrow with a possible second, but we'll see if I'm motivated enough for that and/or I have enough time to do so. After all, I'm on my own for the week, so I don't have a training partner!
One thing that did come up today is that I've realized that I'm motivating people to change their lives too. I have one specific person that I'm thinking off who has confided in me and I will not give their name out. I'm happy to help this person pursue their goals and I hope that we can support each other and accomplish our goals together.
Calories for today are at about 2300-2400 so I'm going to stop eating, although I may snack on some sunflower seeds for a little bit. I just want to relax so I can be productive tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates!
One thing that did come up today is that I've realized that I'm motivating people to change their lives too. I have one specific person that I'm thinking off who has confided in me and I will not give their name out. I'm happy to help this person pursue their goals and I hope that we can support each other and accomplish our goals together.
Calories for today are at about 2300-2400 so I'm going to stop eating, although I may snack on some sunflower seeds for a little bit. I just want to relax so I can be productive tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates!
Going into Week 2
It's Monday morning. I woke up about half an hour ago and weighed myself. I lost 2 pounds, which is exactly the goal that I set for myself. Am I pleased with that weight loss? Yes. Am I excited about it? eh... I expected more out of myself since I exceeded every other goal this week. I drank 2 liters of water every day. I worked out 6 times, not just 5. I also only drank on two days and was under my limit for the weekend.
So it's time to reflect... what do I need to do differently? For one, I needed to not gorge myself on Saturday night. However, I made that decision to enjoy myself with my wife, my brother, and friends. I did so. I just want to break that direct link between enjoyment and food/alcohol. I can do enjoy things without both. I enjoy riding a bike, right? I also need to stop eating so late into the evening. I'm alone this week so I can eat whatever I want whenever I want. I'm going to try to eat less carbs for dinner because I have to eat dinner so late. I also want to eat more of my calories in the morning/afternoon because I'm leaving myself with at least 1000 calories in the evening that I don't need to I try to fill so my metabolism doesn't shut down.
I dunno... maybe I'm over thinking it all.
Also, this water goal... I set out to make things a habit in my life, right? I think this one's gonna stick pretty easily.
Here are my pics for the start of week 2. Too bad you can't see a 2 pound difference!
So it's time to reflect... what do I need to do differently? For one, I needed to not gorge myself on Saturday night. However, I made that decision to enjoy myself with my wife, my brother, and friends. I did so. I just want to break that direct link between enjoyment and food/alcohol. I can do enjoy things without both. I enjoy riding a bike, right? I also need to stop eating so late into the evening. I'm alone this week so I can eat whatever I want whenever I want. I'm going to try to eat less carbs for dinner because I have to eat dinner so late. I also want to eat more of my calories in the morning/afternoon because I'm leaving myself with at least 1000 calories in the evening that I don't need to I try to fill so my metabolism doesn't shut down.
I dunno... maybe I'm over thinking it all.
Also, this water goal... I set out to make things a habit in my life, right? I think this one's gonna stick pretty easily.
Here are my pics for the start of week 2. Too bad you can't see a 2 pound difference!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
My first weekend (Day 6 & 7)
Oh what a weekend that was! On Saturday, my wife and I went over to my brothers house for the weekend. She worked late, but I got to see my brother which was awesome. We went for a bike ride and then went over to BJ's Wholesale. I got a lot of stuff for the house, and a little bit of food. I got Clif Bars (which are awesome) and Dum Dum lolipops (which are also awesome). I know, I know... what am I doing buying candy if I'm trying to lose weight? Well, I've found in the past that I do better with weight loss if I find something to satisfy a craving that doesn't have a lot of calories in it. Dum Dum's have less than 20 calories per pop. Instead of eating a bunch of jelly beans or skittles, I can suck on a Dum Dum for 10-15 minutes and be happy.
On the way home from BJ's, my brother and I stopped at the beer distributor and the grocery store to stock up for the BBQ. I got to grill. I ate entirely too much (we had burgers, sausages, hotdogs, and chips), but I stayed under my limit for alcoholic beverages for the weekend. Since I didn't drink at all on Friday, I had 6 drinks available for Saturday. I targeted one of each variety in a Sam Adam's mix pack and only made it through 5. I'm happy with that, although I'm not sure that I needed all 5 beers.
Sunday was also good. I woke up and hung out with my brother. We played some video games and grilled leftovers from the BBQ. Then we went for a bike ride with his neighbor and suffered a whole lot. We started out at a pace that was a little faster than I wanted to because my legs were still sore from the day before, but it was worth it, because we got a great workout in. The first half of the ride was difficult for me because we had a few long hills (although it was nothing compared to Saturday's ride) but it was still a great ride. I wasn't the only one struggling. On the way home, there was a descent that I absolutely love. The road is called Hollow Road, and it's a relatively shallow descent where my brother and I tend to race. Because it was a little wet outside, I wasn't sure that he would make an attack, but he did on a small incline that precedes the descent. I kept it close there and then went for him. I had my bike on the highest gear, went down into my drops (the low part of the handlebars) and started churning my pedals. I got close to him towards the end and then passed him about 100 yards from the finish. I would say that I typically win in this fashion... of course when I pass him at the end I rub it in with a "WOO WOOOO!"
Now don't get it wrong, my brother is a good cyclist. He crushes me on just about every hill climb we've ever done, but he's got nothing on me when we're on a downhill, and it's about a push for a straight away on level ground... although I still think I could pull it out most of the time (Yes, that's a challenge).
Now I'm home and getting myself ready for the week to follow. My wife is going to be leaving me for the week to spend some much needed time with her family who she doesn't get to see nearly enough. I am happy that she gets to go, but I'm sad that I'll be without her for the entire work week.
For those of you who care... here are my ride stats for the weekend:
Saturday:
Time: 1:58:12
Distance: 29.68
Average Speed: 15.0mph
Max Speed: 38.5mph
Sunday:
Time: 1:24:12
Distance: 21.4
Average Speed: 15.2mph
Max Speed: 35.0mph
On the way home from BJ's, my brother and I stopped at the beer distributor and the grocery store to stock up for the BBQ. I got to grill. I ate entirely too much (we had burgers, sausages, hotdogs, and chips), but I stayed under my limit for alcoholic beverages for the weekend. Since I didn't drink at all on Friday, I had 6 drinks available for Saturday. I targeted one of each variety in a Sam Adam's mix pack and only made it through 5. I'm happy with that, although I'm not sure that I needed all 5 beers.
Sunday was also good. I woke up and hung out with my brother. We played some video games and grilled leftovers from the BBQ. Then we went for a bike ride with his neighbor and suffered a whole lot. We started out at a pace that was a little faster than I wanted to because my legs were still sore from the day before, but it was worth it, because we got a great workout in. The first half of the ride was difficult for me because we had a few long hills (although it was nothing compared to Saturday's ride) but it was still a great ride. I wasn't the only one struggling. On the way home, there was a descent that I absolutely love. The road is called Hollow Road, and it's a relatively shallow descent where my brother and I tend to race. Because it was a little wet outside, I wasn't sure that he would make an attack, but he did on a small incline that precedes the descent. I kept it close there and then went for him. I had my bike on the highest gear, went down into my drops (the low part of the handlebars) and started churning my pedals. I got close to him towards the end and then passed him about 100 yards from the finish. I would say that I typically win in this fashion... of course when I pass him at the end I rub it in with a "WOO WOOOO!"
Now don't get it wrong, my brother is a good cyclist. He crushes me on just about every hill climb we've ever done, but he's got nothing on me when we're on a downhill, and it's about a push for a straight away on level ground... although I still think I could pull it out most of the time (Yes, that's a challenge).
Now I'm home and getting myself ready for the week to follow. My wife is going to be leaving me for the week to spend some much needed time with her family who she doesn't get to see nearly enough. I am happy that she gets to go, but I'm sad that I'll be without her for the entire work week.
For those of you who care... here are my ride stats for the weekend:
Saturday:
Time: 1:58:12
Distance: 29.68
Average Speed: 15.0mph
Max Speed: 38.5mph
Sunday:
Time: 1:24:12
Distance: 21.4
Average Speed: 15.2mph
Max Speed: 35.0mph
Friday, May 13, 2011
Day 5 & Weekend Plans
It's almost the beginning of my first weekend of this life changing 90 days. Here's where it's gonna get tough, but I have a plan... more on that in a minute. First, let's talk about today. I woke up on the late side and went for a run to get my workout in for today (that's 4 so far this week for those of you who are counting). I generally don't work on Friday's so my wife made lunch plans with her grand parents so we could drop off our Christmas tree (it's been in a box since January) and pick up our air conditioner. It was nice to see them, but I had no say in what we were eating. Luckily it was make your own sandwich with chips, veggies, fruit, and hummus. Not too bad! I made a nice roast beef sammich with hummus and a slice of provolone, had a little bit of cantaloupe (melon is not my favorite), and drank a glass of water. Pretty pleased with that.
Came home and decided to get an oil change in my car, so my wife and I stopped at Rita's for some water ice while we waited. When the car was done, we drove back to the apartment and relaxed for a little bit before we drove out to the Harrisburg area to watch my brother in law run in a track meet. He had a new personal best in the 3200, so we're really proud of him. He runs the mile tomorrow (Good luck!). Then drove home. We probably spent a good 4-5 hours in the car today and heard about a total of 7 different songs. 7 songs that I probably will never listen to ever again. Ugh. But now we're home and getting ready for the weekend.
This weekend, we will be staying with my brother. My wife works near his house, and I want to ride bikes. The plan is to go over in the morning, get a good 30-40 miles in, and then come home and have a BBQ with a few friends. Since I didn't have anything to drink today, I can have up to 6 tomorrow. We'll see how many I really want. Sunday we'll try to squeeze another ride in, but I'm not too hopeful, the weather looks like pewp. If it's nice, though, I'm in for a fast 20 or so to get a 6th workout in.
I probably won't have access to a computer to post anything tomorrow, but I'll be sure to update you Sunday night on how the weekend went! If you're near my brother's place, look out for us, we'll be dressed like this!
Came home and decided to get an oil change in my car, so my wife and I stopped at Rita's for some water ice while we waited. When the car was done, we drove back to the apartment and relaxed for a little bit before we drove out to the Harrisburg area to watch my brother in law run in a track meet. He had a new personal best in the 3200, so we're really proud of him. He runs the mile tomorrow (Good luck!). Then drove home. We probably spent a good 4-5 hours in the car today and heard about a total of 7 different songs. 7 songs that I probably will never listen to ever again. Ugh. But now we're home and getting ready for the weekend.
This weekend, we will be staying with my brother. My wife works near his house, and I want to ride bikes. The plan is to go over in the morning, get a good 30-40 miles in, and then come home and have a BBQ with a few friends. Since I didn't have anything to drink today, I can have up to 6 tomorrow. We'll see how many I really want. Sunday we'll try to squeeze another ride in, but I'm not too hopeful, the weather looks like pewp. If it's nice, though, I'm in for a fast 20 or so to get a 6th workout in.
I probably won't have access to a computer to post anything tomorrow, but I'll be sure to update you Sunday night on how the weekend went! If you're near my brother's place, look out for us, we'll be dressed like this!
Day 4 & Ride Summary
MUCH better than yesterday. I woke up early thinking that I had a lot of work to finish today, but I was wrong. So instead of going to the gym to lift like I was planning on, I worked for a while and then went for a bike ride.
For those of you who ride, you'll totally understand this... For those of you who don't, please try to. A bike ride isn't a bike ride unless someone tries to kill you. Whether it's on purpose or not isn't the point, it's that people in cars simply don't pay attention to people on bikes. For instance, within my first mile, I had a fly past me, stop short, and turn right in front of me. I had to break so hard that my back wheel locked up and I fish tailed. Luckily I stayed up. I thought to myself, hopefully I got the near death experience out of the way. Wrong. I almost got hit two more times. I had a car pull out in front of me to make a left turn and another one buzz me hard core with no cars coming in the other direction. I'm sure that one was just to prove that cars belong on the road and bikes don't. Anyway... Stats...
Distance: 20.19 miles
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, 19 seconds
Avg Speed: 17.2mph
Max Speed: 37.5mph
The rest of my day went kind of as I had expected. I had two therapy sessions in the evening
Food for today:
Breakfast: 3 Eggs, 1 slice cheese
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Chicken and cheese on deli flats with sweet and spicy sauce (Frank's Red Hot brand... yum)
Snack: popcorn
Dinner: 2 chicken drumsticks, broccoli, corn on the cob.
For those of you who ride, you'll totally understand this... For those of you who don't, please try to. A bike ride isn't a bike ride unless someone tries to kill you. Whether it's on purpose or not isn't the point, it's that people in cars simply don't pay attention to people on bikes. For instance, within my first mile, I had a fly past me, stop short, and turn right in front of me. I had to break so hard that my back wheel locked up and I fish tailed. Luckily I stayed up. I thought to myself, hopefully I got the near death experience out of the way. Wrong. I almost got hit two more times. I had a car pull out in front of me to make a left turn and another one buzz me hard core with no cars coming in the other direction. I'm sure that one was just to prove that cars belong on the road and bikes don't. Anyway... Stats...
Distance: 20.19 miles
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, 19 seconds
Avg Speed: 17.2mph
Max Speed: 37.5mph
The rest of my day went kind of as I had expected. I had two therapy sessions in the evening
Food for today:
Breakfast: 3 Eggs, 1 slice cheese
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Chicken and cheese on deli flats with sweet and spicy sauce (Frank's Red Hot brand... yum)
Snack: popcorn
Dinner: 2 chicken drumsticks, broccoli, corn on the cob.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Today's inspiration
"But yeah, Ann insisted, running was romantic; and no, of course her friends didn't get it because they'd never broken through. For them, running was a miserable two miles motivated solely by size 6 jeans; get on the scale, get depressed, get your headphones on, and get it over with. But you can't muscle through a five-hour run that way; you have to relax into it, like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it.
Relax enough, and your body becomes so familiar with the cradle rocking rhythm that you almost forget you're moving. And once you break through to that soft, half-levitating flow, that's when the moonlight and champagne show up: 'You have to be in tune with your body, and know when you can push it and when to back off,' Ann would explain. You have to listen closely to the sound of your own breathing; be aware of how much sweat is beading on your back; make sure to treat yourself to cool water and a salty snack and ask yourself, honestly and often, exactly how you feel. What could be more sensual than paying exquisite attention to your own body? Sensual counted as romantic right?"
This is an excerpt from "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. Ann is an ultra marathon runner who won the World Ultra Title running a 6:44 average mile for 62 miles followed by the Western States and Leadville 100 miler in the same month! Talk about inspiring (and insane).
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Day 3
It is almost the end of day three. I had a crappy work day schedule... I left the house before 8am and got home after 8pm. I know that my crazy work schedule is a contributing factor in my weight gain because it's hard to be gone from home for 12 hours and eat healthy the whole time. It's difficult to bring enough food to eat for the entire day and even when I do, I get hungry regardless.
Today I went to Wawa to get extra water because the bottle I had didn't hold enough. I also got a clif bar knowing full well that my food wasn't going to hold me over. Here's what I ate today...
Breakfast: 3 eggs with cheese
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Chicken & Cheese sandwich, strawberries, apple, banana
Snack: Clif Bar
Dinner: Chicken drumstick's with green beans and rice
Calories thus far... 1840. Shit. I need to eat more but it's late. I might just let it go. We'll see.
One of the hardest parts of today was managing water intake. I wanted to finish my water goal for the day, which I did, but I also didn't want to be out working in homes and using my client's bathrooms. Some of them are not the nicest places to even stand and pee. I stopped at my mom's house for about 2 hours to do some paperwork while I waited for my next client this afternoon and peed three times. I didn't pee again until I left my last client 4 hours later... but I also stopped drinking just short of my goal. I finished it on the way home. I see this being a problem in the future as well.
Today I went to Wawa to get extra water because the bottle I had didn't hold enough. I also got a clif bar knowing full well that my food wasn't going to hold me over. Here's what I ate today...
Breakfast: 3 eggs with cheese
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Chicken & Cheese sandwich, strawberries, apple, banana
Snack: Clif Bar
Dinner: Chicken drumstick's with green beans and rice
Calories thus far... 1840. Shit. I need to eat more but it's late. I might just let it go. We'll see.
One of the hardest parts of today was managing water intake. I wanted to finish my water goal for the day, which I did, but I also didn't want to be out working in homes and using my client's bathrooms. Some of them are not the nicest places to even stand and pee. I stopped at my mom's house for about 2 hours to do some paperwork while I waited for my next client this afternoon and peed three times. I didn't pee again until I left my last client 4 hours later... but I also stopped drinking just short of my goal. I finished it on the way home. I see this being a problem in the future as well.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Why this? Why now?
I want to take a moment to write about my experiences with weight loss and why I chose the goals that I did for this journey...
My weight has peaked 3 times that I can remember, but I have been on a yo-yo for about 7-8 years. The three peaks were a few years apart. My first and highest was in high school. I weighed in one time at 299 pounds. I assume I went over that since I didn't decide to start trying to lose weight for a month or two after that, but I also refused to look at a scale until I was sure that I was under 300 again. I had gained this weight over a long period of time by developing horrible eating habits. I remember eating 2 foot long hoagies with a six pack of soda and a full bag of dorito's for dinner on numerous occasions. When I think back on that it grosses me out. When I finally started to lose weight, I got down to 245 (ultimately 215) by joining the wrestling team (consistent workouts and accountability), and changing my eating habits.
My second peak was up to about 260 or so. I got up there in college after a bad relationship had just ended. During that relationship I had added alcohol to my regular diet and was sabotaging myself. When I met my new girlfriend, who I would ultimately marry, I had horrible habits again. I was only working out by playing team sports. I had stopped lifting weights and was binge eating and drinking regularly. It's a wonder I didn't get much higher than that. I guess the sports helped. I lost a lot of that weight after graduation because I didn't want to be a slob for my wedding. I did it by slowing down my alcohol consumption, working out regularly, and eating better and less. I think I bottomed out at 235-240 that time.
Peak number 3. Now. This time, I went back to drinking and eating like crap. Now why would that happen this time, do you think? I know exactly what happened. I got married and shortly after became depressed. About a month before I got married, I had graduated with my Master's Degree in School Counseling. I did not get a job, which I was relying on for the income to support my wife and I. The school year started and no jobs were to be had... by anybody. I had secured a position as a Behavioral Therapist for the summer, which has since turned into a full time gig, but until January of 2011, I was working part time as a therapist, kind of using my masters degree, and part time as a waiter trying to make ends meet. My wife works on weekends, but she's still finishing up a Doctoral program in physical therapy (which I am very proud of her for, by the way). Our income together was not paying the bills. Once my student loan bills started coming, that's when the shit hit the fan for me emotionally. I wanted to provide for my wife, but I couldn't do it, because I couldn't find a decent paying job. I started drinking. A LOT.
I think I went 3 weeks in a row without a day off at one point, and many weeks where I drank at least 6 of the 7 days, seriously binge drinking, even on work nights. I'm embarrassed that I did it, but everything in life is a learning experience. I slowed it down for a little while, but went right back to it eventually. Because of my work schedule, I was eating at weird hours (still am) and then drinking myself to sleep.
This leads to my goals. Water consumption, Reducing alcohol, working out, and overall weight loss. I know I said that I've peaked 3 times, but I've gone up and down many times, and every time I do it, I lose weight because of my diet and exercise. There's no trick here, folks... just good old fashioned working out and eating right. SURPRISE! Alcohol has caused me a lot of problems. I don't want to get rid of it from my life because I enjoy it A LOT. Not just the buzz, but I love the taste of good beer, good scotch, and good rum (along with mixed drinks).
I'm a behavior therapist. I write goals for kids on a regular basis and was able to write goals for myself, knowing my own behavior trends, that wouldn't allow me to take advantage of the goals. For instance, workouts don't stack by week because I know I'll take a week off or two at some point because "I can." Drinks during the week don't carry over because I'll take advantage of that too. I gave myself cheat days built in, so the goals are realistic and attainable, but also challenging.
So anyway, that's my history. I was inspired by the 90 days article because I thought if I can actually create good habits for once in my life that I can maintain a healthy life style for years and years instead of reverting back to my old ways... drinking and eating like crap.
My weight has peaked 3 times that I can remember, but I have been on a yo-yo for about 7-8 years. The three peaks were a few years apart. My first and highest was in high school. I weighed in one time at 299 pounds. I assume I went over that since I didn't decide to start trying to lose weight for a month or two after that, but I also refused to look at a scale until I was sure that I was under 300 again. I had gained this weight over a long period of time by developing horrible eating habits. I remember eating 2 foot long hoagies with a six pack of soda and a full bag of dorito's for dinner on numerous occasions. When I think back on that it grosses me out. When I finally started to lose weight, I got down to 245 (ultimately 215) by joining the wrestling team (consistent workouts and accountability), and changing my eating habits.
My second peak was up to about 260 or so. I got up there in college after a bad relationship had just ended. During that relationship I had added alcohol to my regular diet and was sabotaging myself. When I met my new girlfriend, who I would ultimately marry, I had horrible habits again. I was only working out by playing team sports. I had stopped lifting weights and was binge eating and drinking regularly. It's a wonder I didn't get much higher than that. I guess the sports helped. I lost a lot of that weight after graduation because I didn't want to be a slob for my wedding. I did it by slowing down my alcohol consumption, working out regularly, and eating better and less. I think I bottomed out at 235-240 that time.
Peak number 3. Now. This time, I went back to drinking and eating like crap. Now why would that happen this time, do you think? I know exactly what happened. I got married and shortly after became depressed. About a month before I got married, I had graduated with my Master's Degree in School Counseling. I did not get a job, which I was relying on for the income to support my wife and I. The school year started and no jobs were to be had... by anybody. I had secured a position as a Behavioral Therapist for the summer, which has since turned into a full time gig, but until January of 2011, I was working part time as a therapist, kind of using my masters degree, and part time as a waiter trying to make ends meet. My wife works on weekends, but she's still finishing up a Doctoral program in physical therapy (which I am very proud of her for, by the way). Our income together was not paying the bills. Once my student loan bills started coming, that's when the shit hit the fan for me emotionally. I wanted to provide for my wife, but I couldn't do it, because I couldn't find a decent paying job. I started drinking. A LOT.
I think I went 3 weeks in a row without a day off at one point, and many weeks where I drank at least 6 of the 7 days, seriously binge drinking, even on work nights. I'm embarrassed that I did it, but everything in life is a learning experience. I slowed it down for a little while, but went right back to it eventually. Because of my work schedule, I was eating at weird hours (still am) and then drinking myself to sleep.
This leads to my goals. Water consumption, Reducing alcohol, working out, and overall weight loss. I know I said that I've peaked 3 times, but I've gone up and down many times, and every time I do it, I lose weight because of my diet and exercise. There's no trick here, folks... just good old fashioned working out and eating right. SURPRISE! Alcohol has caused me a lot of problems. I don't want to get rid of it from my life because I enjoy it A LOT. Not just the buzz, but I love the taste of good beer, good scotch, and good rum (along with mixed drinks).
I'm a behavior therapist. I write goals for kids on a regular basis and was able to write goals for myself, knowing my own behavior trends, that wouldn't allow me to take advantage of the goals. For instance, workouts don't stack by week because I know I'll take a week off or two at some point because "I can." Drinks during the week don't carry over because I'll take advantage of that too. I gave myself cheat days built in, so the goals are realistic and attainable, but also challenging.
So anyway, that's my history. I was inspired by the 90 days article because I thought if I can actually create good habits for once in my life that I can maintain a healthy life style for years and years instead of reverting back to my old ways... drinking and eating like crap.
Day 2
I woke up this morning and went to the YMCA to lift. It baffles me to this day why people circle the parking lot to find the best spot, then use the handicap buttons to open the door before walking into the gym to workout for 2 hours... but whatever...
I lifted weights today.
Then I came home, made myself a healthy breakfast and then sat down on the sofa for a good 9 hours of work. Really a relatively boring day. I did drink my first 2 liters of water today by 1pm, though. I didn't pee as much as I thought I would, so I must have been dehydrated last night after my run and whatnot. I'd like to work out tonight, but I want to play sports, and I don't have anyone to play with tonight. Oh well. I got one in today at least.
My wife and I have tried to make it a tradition to have Brinner once a week. For those of you who don't know what Brinner is, it's breakfast for dinner. Also, it's awesome. Tonight.... was Brinner night. Awesome.
Here's my food for the day:
Breakfast: Eggs with some cheese & oatmeal
Snack: popcorn
Lunch: Salad with Tuna
Snack: leftover squash with some spaghetti sauce & sunflower seeds.
Brinner: Eggs with italian meats, broccoli & cheese, hash browns, and strawberries.
I plan on a snack tonight because I'm way under my calories for the day at about 1800.
Also, I woke up this morning 3 pounds lighter than yesterday, but from my experience, weight fluctuates by day, so I'll be keeping track of my weight on Monday's and use that point to judge my total weight loss for the week instead of updating daily. The 3 was exciting to see, though.
I lifted weights today.
Then I came home, made myself a healthy breakfast and then sat down on the sofa for a good 9 hours of work. Really a relatively boring day. I did drink my first 2 liters of water today by 1pm, though. I didn't pee as much as I thought I would, so I must have been dehydrated last night after my run and whatnot. I'd like to work out tonight, but I want to play sports, and I don't have anyone to play with tonight. Oh well. I got one in today at least.
My wife and I have tried to make it a tradition to have Brinner once a week. For those of you who don't know what Brinner is, it's breakfast for dinner. Also, it's awesome. Tonight.... was Brinner night. Awesome.
Here's my food for the day:
Breakfast: Eggs with some cheese & oatmeal
Snack: popcorn
Lunch: Salad with Tuna
Snack: leftover squash with some spaghetti sauce & sunflower seeds.
Brinner: Eggs with italian meats, broccoli & cheese, hash browns, and strawberries.
I plan on a snack tonight because I'm way under my calories for the day at about 1800.
Also, I woke up this morning 3 pounds lighter than yesterday, but from my experience, weight fluctuates by day, so I'll be keeping track of my weight on Monday's and use that point to judge my total weight loss for the week instead of updating daily. The 3 was exciting to see, though.
Monday, May 9, 2011
End of Day 1
So it's almost the end of day 1. Here's how I did on my goals:
I drank two liters of water by around 3:00 this afternoon. I didn't keep track of how much more I had, but I've been pissing like a horse all day. I went to play tennis with my wife but it was short lived, so when we got home, I went for a run. My knee clicked for almost the whole run and I got a stomach cramp right after my first turn. Ran about 2.5-3 miles. Because of the length of both activities, I'm only marking 1 workout session for today. I haven't had any alcohol today and I've eaten really well. Both help with weight loss.
Here's my food for today...
Breakfast: 3 eggs with a slice of American cheese and a yogurt.
Snack: Baby carrots and guacamole
Lunch: Leftover "jambalaya" (red beans and rice with kielbasa in a tomato sauce) YUM.
Snack: popcorn and an apple
Dinner: Salmon with rice and squash.
Total Calories: just over 2000.
Anyway, overall, a pretty decent day. Tomorrow, I'm planning on lifting in the morning and then working most of the day. If I can get a partner for tennis tomorrow night, I'll try to do that too.
I drank two liters of water by around 3:00 this afternoon. I didn't keep track of how much more I had, but I've been pissing like a horse all day. I went to play tennis with my wife but it was short lived, so when we got home, I went for a run. My knee clicked for almost the whole run and I got a stomach cramp right after my first turn. Ran about 2.5-3 miles. Because of the length of both activities, I'm only marking 1 workout session for today. I haven't had any alcohol today and I've eaten really well. Both help with weight loss.
Here's my food for today...
Breakfast: 3 eggs with a slice of American cheese and a yogurt.
Snack: Baby carrots and guacamole
Lunch: Leftover "jambalaya" (red beans and rice with kielbasa in a tomato sauce) YUM.
Snack: popcorn and an apple
Dinner: Salmon with rice and squash.
Total Calories: just over 2000.
Anyway, overall, a pretty decent day. Tomorrow, I'm planning on lifting in the morning and then working most of the day. If I can get a partner for tennis tomorrow night, I'll try to do that too.
Before...
Today is the first day of 90. I've weighed in and I'm set to go. Now, if you have a weak stomach, look away now... you're about to see my "before" pictures. I'm going to ask my wife to take new ones on a weekly basis and see if I can notice the change over time. Wish me luck!
Starting weight: 273 (Yikes!)
Starting weight: 273 (Yikes!)
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Goals
I decided that I'm going to start my 90 days tomorrow, Monday the 9th of May. 90 days is 12 weeks and 6 days. The last of my 90 days will be Saturday the 6th of August. Man that seems far away.
I thought about how I want to define my goals. Here they are:
Water: I will consume 2 liters of water per day at least 70 of the 90 days. Anything other than water is bonus liquid, but it does not count towards my goal. For instance, I can't drink a glass of crystal light or propel and count it. It must be plain water.
Alcohol: I may only drink on 2 week days per week and I may not exceed 2 drinks on either day. Week days consist of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On the weekend, I may consume 6 alcoholic beverages for the entire weekend. That means if I drink 5 on Friday, I can only have 1 on Saturday. I will be splitting the weekend and weekday days apart so that one cannot influence the other. For instance, if I blow it by Wednesday, I don't want to just think, well, I blew it, so I might as well binge drink all weekend. There are 13 weeks and 13 weekends. I'll be able to accomplish this goal a maximum of 26 times. I need to accomplish this goal at least 18 times.
Exercise: I will complete a minimum of 5 sessions of physical activity per week. Physical activities that count include Weight Lifting, Running, Cycling, Swimming, and Sports (such as Frisbee or Tennis). I must do each activity for a minimum of 20 minutes. I may do more than one per day. Workouts do not "stack." If I work out 6 times in one week, that does not mean I only need to do 4 on the following week. I want to complete this goal at least 9 of the 13 weeks.
Weight Loss: I will weigh in every Monday morning. I will post my weight on the side bar every week. My goal is to lose 2 pounds, on average, per week. That's the most healthy way to go, but I hope I go faster than that. That means that I should be able to lose about 26 pounds. That will be my goal. If I meet it early, I'll set a new one.
Here is how you'll see my goals on the side bar...
Water: 0/70
Alcohol: 0/18
Exercise: 0/13
Weight: 0/26
Choo Choo!
I thought about how I want to define my goals. Here they are:
Water: I will consume 2 liters of water per day at least 70 of the 90 days. Anything other than water is bonus liquid, but it does not count towards my goal. For instance, I can't drink a glass of crystal light or propel and count it. It must be plain water.
Alcohol: I may only drink on 2 week days per week and I may not exceed 2 drinks on either day. Week days consist of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On the weekend, I may consume 6 alcoholic beverages for the entire weekend. That means if I drink 5 on Friday, I can only have 1 on Saturday. I will be splitting the weekend and weekday days apart so that one cannot influence the other. For instance, if I blow it by Wednesday, I don't want to just think, well, I blew it, so I might as well binge drink all weekend. There are 13 weeks and 13 weekends. I'll be able to accomplish this goal a maximum of 26 times. I need to accomplish this goal at least 18 times.
Exercise: I will complete a minimum of 5 sessions of physical activity per week. Physical activities that count include Weight Lifting, Running, Cycling, Swimming, and Sports (such as Frisbee or Tennis). I must do each activity for a minimum of 20 minutes. I may do more than one per day. Workouts do not "stack." If I work out 6 times in one week, that does not mean I only need to do 4 on the following week. I want to complete this goal at least 9 of the 13 weeks.
Weight Loss: I will weigh in every Monday morning. I will post my weight on the side bar every week. My goal is to lose 2 pounds, on average, per week. That's the most healthy way to go, but I hope I go faster than that. That means that I should be able to lose about 26 pounds. That will be my goal. If I meet it early, I'll set a new one.
Here is how you'll see my goals on the side bar...
Water: 0/70
Alcohol: 0/18
Exercise: 0/13
Weight: 0/26
Choo Choo!
90 Days
"90 Days." That's the title of the article in Bicycling Magazine written by Tom Clynes that got me thinking. The article is about how long it takes to break bad habits, or create new ones. It says that it takes between 18 and 254 days to form or break a habit. 90 days is the average for solidifying complex habits such as exercise. Tom, who wrote the article, was trying to make cycling a bigger part of his life and vowed to ride, indoors or out, for 90 days to help solidify the habit in his life. I plan to do more than that.
I got married almost a year ago now, and I have completely let myself go. I don't know if it's due to comfort level, laziness, carelessness, work schedule, or a combination of those plus more. What I do know, is that in the past year, I've managed to gain about 30 pounds from an already heavy 230-240 pound body. I weighed in at about 270 the other day. HOLY CRAP. My family and friends from high school days remember when I weighed 300 pounds. I lost a lot of that weight at one point, down to 207 at my lightest, but clearly I've let pile back on
I want to set goals for myself to create new good habits in my life. Things that are realistic to maintain for a long period of time, but may not be easy to do in the beginning. All of these goals will focus on improving my health, losing weight, and working towards becoming The Matt Train (sounds like a super hero kind of doesn't it?).
I'm not sure yet how I want to define my goals, but here are the things I want to focus on...
I got married almost a year ago now, and I have completely let myself go. I don't know if it's due to comfort level, laziness, carelessness, work schedule, or a combination of those plus more. What I do know, is that in the past year, I've managed to gain about 30 pounds from an already heavy 230-240 pound body. I weighed in at about 270 the other day. HOLY CRAP. My family and friends from high school days remember when I weighed 300 pounds. I lost a lot of that weight at one point, down to 207 at my lightest, but clearly I've let pile back on
I want to set goals for myself to create new good habits in my life. Things that are realistic to maintain for a long period of time, but may not be easy to do in the beginning. All of these goals will focus on improving my health, losing weight, and working towards becoming The Matt Train (sounds like a super hero kind of doesn't it?).
I'm not sure yet how I want to define my goals, but here are the things I want to focus on...
- Water Consumption
- Exercise
- Alcohol Consumption
- Weight Loss
The Train
I've been talking to my wife for the last few months about wanting to blog, but I've never been able to find something that I wanted to write about. At one time it was doing alcohol reviews. That ended when I realized that I may have a drinking problem. I also thought about doing something about the downturn of society. I ended that when I figured that I'd most likely be complaining about the same stuff over and over again since the same stuff irritates me, and nobody changes it. Not like anyone would listen to me anyway.
Over the weekend, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to write about myself. My life. What I want to do. Who I want to be. Not that I live an overly interesting life, but I think I can make it interesting.
So how did I settle on the name, "The Matt Train." Well, for starters, my name is Matt. That was easy. My brother started calling me Mattrain or something of the sort during/after I graduated from college. I can't remember exactly. I always kinda liked the nickname. I'm not really sure how he come up with it to be honest. Over the last few years, I've learned to adapt the name and embrace what it means... to me at least. Matt Train.
In 2008, I started riding a bike again for the first time since I was in middle school, probably. I trained and rode in the 2008 City to Shore bike ride with a friend of mine... 75 miles from Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ. Since that ride, I have gotten my brother and wife into cycling, purchased a new bike, and trained much much more. I'm a more accomplished cyclist, but not good by any means. I embodied the nickname, Matt Train in 2009 when we all rode together the City to Shore Century. That's 100 miles for you non-cyclists. For a long stretch I rode in the front of our pace line, pulling along about a dozen cyclists. With all 3 of my teammates right behind me, I acted as the engine of the train. I loved it, because I felt strong and powerful.
Since I realized the connection, I have begun to embody the name more and more. I'll be trying to make myself into the engine that I know I can be to lead my pack not only in cycling, but be a strong role model for friends and family. This is my story of that journey.
More to come. Until then... ALL ABOARD!
Over the weekend, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to write about myself. My life. What I want to do. Who I want to be. Not that I live an overly interesting life, but I think I can make it interesting.
So how did I settle on the name, "The Matt Train." Well, for starters, my name is Matt. That was easy. My brother started calling me Mattrain or something of the sort during/after I graduated from college. I can't remember exactly. I always kinda liked the nickname. I'm not really sure how he come up with it to be honest. Over the last few years, I've learned to adapt the name and embrace what it means... to me at least. Matt Train.
In 2008, I started riding a bike again for the first time since I was in middle school, probably. I trained and rode in the 2008 City to Shore bike ride with a friend of mine... 75 miles from Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ. Since that ride, I have gotten my brother and wife into cycling, purchased a new bike, and trained much much more. I'm a more accomplished cyclist, but not good by any means. I embodied the nickname, Matt Train in 2009 when we all rode together the City to Shore Century. That's 100 miles for you non-cyclists. For a long stretch I rode in the front of our pace line, pulling along about a dozen cyclists. With all 3 of my teammates right behind me, I acted as the engine of the train. I loved it, because I felt strong and powerful.
Since I realized the connection, I have begun to embody the name more and more. I'll be trying to make myself into the engine that I know I can be to lead my pack not only in cycling, but be a strong role model for friends and family. This is my story of that journey.
More to come. Until then... ALL ABOARD!
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