I apologize for not posting much recently. I've been pretty busy with work and haven't had much that was post worthy. I'm working on getting our apartment cleaned up and working my way through some of our stuff to see if we can get rid of anything before we move in a few months.
Today I want to stress the importance of support. If you're going along with me and trying to drop a few pounds or change something in your life, support is a crucial element of that. I'm lucky in that I have the emotional support of a lot of people, but I also have the physical support of some very close friends and family. What I mean by that, is I have some great workout buddies.
I have 3 people that I know I can count on to push me in a workout, or maybe I can push them! My wife, brother, and a buddy of mine all ride bikes. We can all get out together, or in pairs, to put some work in on the bike. I know I can count on my wife during the week to work out with me whether it be running or cycling. If we're running, she pushes me, but if it's cycling, I can push her (usually). We also will grab a game of tennis just to switch things up every once in a while.
On the weekends, I can usually count on my brother or other friend for a ride. My brother has always supported me and been proud of me when I try to lose weight. He's also really good at pushing me on the bike since he's in better shape than I am. He's good competition, because we've both got our strengths on the bike. His is climbing, mine is descent. I also can go into MattTrain mode and crush him on a flat as long as I can keep him off my back wheel so he doesn't get to draft.
My other friend will ride all day with me. He's one of those guys who, no matter how bad he's hurting, he will just keep going. I'm pretty sure that when we did our Iron Tour ride (68 miles) he bonked between miles 40 and 50, but damn if he didn't finish that ride!
So what I'm getting at, is if you've got a goal to pursue, find someone to help you get there. It can be hard if you're the kind of guy (or girl) who thinks that they can do anything on their own, but you need to learn to accept help... take it from me... it's crucial.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Start of Week 8
I'm beginning to settle into a groove, finally. I'm pretty convinced at this point that my goal to drink more water was made into a habit by week 2. I've checked it off my list, but continued to track it for the purpose of my blog. I will not continue that "goal" in my next cycle because I will continue to drink the water regardless.
I'm finding the alcohol goal a little more difficult than the water goal. When I miss it for a week, it's planned. Other than Memorial Day week/weekend, I haven't missed one. However, I sometimes have an urge to have just one more, or have one during the week when I've already finished my drinks for that week. For instance, on Sunday night, I wanted to relax with my wife who I feel like I haven't seen since last weekend, and have a drink. Although the calories wouldn't kill me, I chose not to because I had already had my drinks for the week.
My goal to work out 5 times a week is going well. So far I only missed one week, which I planned to do, because I had a big cycling event on that weekend. For the past two weeks, I've made up for it and worked out 6 times each week. Sunday, I went for a recovery run and struggled big time. Saturday, I hard core bonked on my bike ride. I think I'm pushing myself a little too hard and may need to cut back a little bit. I'm definitely not easing myself into running like I should, but I guess I expect more out of myself than I physically have to give.
My wife (who has completed a marathon and a century (100 mile) bike ride) has told me that running and cycling are just too different to be able to use one to judge your fitness level in the other. For instance, even though I can go out and ride my bike 60 miles, I can't go run 6 miles and expect to feel the same way. In my head, I know she's right, but I want to be an athlete. I want to be THE MATT TRAIN. I see glimpses of it, like when I was riding with my brother on Saturday and pushed out 24-25mph for a minute and a half.
Unfortunately, I'm still behind my goal weight, so I'm trying to play catch up. This morning I was 260lbs. Although I'm happy that I lost more weight, I want to be ahead of my goal, or at the very least, even. I should be at 259 today, but at least I got a pound back. I think I did really well with my food intake this week. I was being more careful than usual, although I did not track my calories at all with the exception of Monday.
The weight loss is coming. I know it is, I can see it on the scale and I can see it in the pictures. I'm excited about it. I just hope that I can find the strength to continue working out hard and my body doesn't fall apart on me!
Anyway, here are my pictures for this week:
Say hello, hamper!
I'm finding the alcohol goal a little more difficult than the water goal. When I miss it for a week, it's planned. Other than Memorial Day week/weekend, I haven't missed one. However, I sometimes have an urge to have just one more, or have one during the week when I've already finished my drinks for that week. For instance, on Sunday night, I wanted to relax with my wife who I feel like I haven't seen since last weekend, and have a drink. Although the calories wouldn't kill me, I chose not to because I had already had my drinks for the week.
My goal to work out 5 times a week is going well. So far I only missed one week, which I planned to do, because I had a big cycling event on that weekend. For the past two weeks, I've made up for it and worked out 6 times each week. Sunday, I went for a recovery run and struggled big time. Saturday, I hard core bonked on my bike ride. I think I'm pushing myself a little too hard and may need to cut back a little bit. I'm definitely not easing myself into running like I should, but I guess I expect more out of myself than I physically have to give.
My wife (who has completed a marathon and a century (100 mile) bike ride) has told me that running and cycling are just too different to be able to use one to judge your fitness level in the other. For instance, even though I can go out and ride my bike 60 miles, I can't go run 6 miles and expect to feel the same way. In my head, I know she's right, but I want to be an athlete. I want to be THE MATT TRAIN. I see glimpses of it, like when I was riding with my brother on Saturday and pushed out 24-25mph for a minute and a half.
Unfortunately, I'm still behind my goal weight, so I'm trying to play catch up. This morning I was 260lbs. Although I'm happy that I lost more weight, I want to be ahead of my goal, or at the very least, even. I should be at 259 today, but at least I got a pound back. I think I did really well with my food intake this week. I was being more careful than usual, although I did not track my calories at all with the exception of Monday.
The weight loss is coming. I know it is, I can see it on the scale and I can see it in the pictures. I'm excited about it. I just hope that I can find the strength to continue working out hard and my body doesn't fall apart on me!
Anyway, here are my pictures for this week:
Say hello, hamper!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge
Today, started something new. I'm trying to make my blog more interactive while motivating others. While browsing the internet, I found something that can bring us all back to our childhoods. Do you remember having to take the Presidential Physical Fitness Test in gym class? Well, if you were not aware, there is now one for adults.
The interactive part is that I've created a team for The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge. This award is given to people who work out 5 times per week for at least 30 minutes for 6 out of 8 weeks. This goes right along with one of my goals. So, in an attempt to share one of my goals with you guys, I'm asking you to make an 8 week commitment and sign up for "The Trainees." Here's how:
Go to www.presidentschallenge.org and create an Individual Account. It's free. When you do that, you can join a group and enter a group number. My group number is 101585. When you join up and start logging workouts, you earn points. Once you get your Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, you can work towards The Presidential Champions Award. There are different levels at different point totals. The more points you earn, the sooner you’ll reach the point total required for your desired award: 40,000 points for bronze, 90,000 for silver, 160,000 for gold, and a whopping 1 million for platinum.
Check it out and join up!
The interactive part is that I've created a team for The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge. This award is given to people who work out 5 times per week for at least 30 minutes for 6 out of 8 weeks. This goes right along with one of my goals. So, in an attempt to share one of my goals with you guys, I'm asking you to make an 8 week commitment and sign up for "The Trainees." Here's how:
Go to www.presidentschallenge.org and create an Individual Account. It's free. When you do that, you can join a group and enter a group number. My group number is 101585. When you join up and start logging workouts, you earn points. Once you get your Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, you can work towards The Presidential Champions Award. There are different levels at different point totals. The more points you earn, the sooner you’ll reach the point total required for your desired award: 40,000 points for bronze, 90,000 for silver, 160,000 for gold, and a whopping 1 million for platinum.
Check it out and join up!
Days 46, 47, & 48: BONK CITY
This weekend was relatively calm so far. My wife and I had dinner last night at 7:45, which was the earliest we've been able to eat all week. I'm hoping that we can get off of this schedule at some point. We ate at 9:00 on Thursday! I have been trying to mediate some, but it's not going as well as I thought it would. I think I'm pretty calm in general, so meditation isn't as necessary as I thought. It is relaxing, though, so I may continue to do it when I'm stressed out or something.
I'm getting close to getting back on track for my weight loss, I think, so I decided to work really hard this weekend and see what I can make of it. Despite having a few drinks last night, my weight this morning was the lightest I've been so far. Hopefully that trend continues.
This afternoon I went to my brother's place to go for a bike ride. We took the Schuylkill River Trail down to Manayunk and then turned around. It was a 45 mile ride, normally a breeze, but it was hot today. I was also under fueled for the distance and ran out of water pretty fast since I was sweating so bad from the heat.
My brother and I talked before the ride and had decided to work together to get down and back as fast as we could. So once we warmed up and got on the trail, we started to draft off of each other. It was fun until the turn around point. I pushed really hard on my last turn and was doing 24-25mph for about a minute or so. Normally I'd have let my brother take over, but I knew we were getting close to the end and I wanted to finish it. Once I caught my breath and we turned back, I felt good again... until about 5 miles in. I bonked (for those new readers, that means I ran out of energy). So did my brother.
So now we're about 20 miles from home and we're both struggling to continue. And to make things worse... the wind is in our face. Damnit. So we struggle back, progressively lowering our average speed until we finally made it home. Our legs were burning and quitting on us the whole way. I guess that means we worked hard? It was awesome and horrible at the same time.
I hope that the workout is reflected in my weight loss for the week. I'd love to lose 4 pounds this week to get back on track.
I'm getting close to getting back on track for my weight loss, I think, so I decided to work really hard this weekend and see what I can make of it. Despite having a few drinks last night, my weight this morning was the lightest I've been so far. Hopefully that trend continues.
This afternoon I went to my brother's place to go for a bike ride. We took the Schuylkill River Trail down to Manayunk and then turned around. It was a 45 mile ride, normally a breeze, but it was hot today. I was also under fueled for the distance and ran out of water pretty fast since I was sweating so bad from the heat.
My brother and I talked before the ride and had decided to work together to get down and back as fast as we could. So once we warmed up and got on the trail, we started to draft off of each other. It was fun until the turn around point. I pushed really hard on my last turn and was doing 24-25mph for about a minute or so. Normally I'd have let my brother take over, but I knew we were getting close to the end and I wanted to finish it. Once I caught my breath and we turned back, I felt good again... until about 5 miles in. I bonked (for those new readers, that means I ran out of energy). So did my brother.
So now we're about 20 miles from home and we're both struggling to continue. And to make things worse... the wind is in our face. Damnit. So we struggle back, progressively lowering our average speed until we finally made it home. Our legs were burning and quitting on us the whole way. I guess that means we worked hard? It was awesome and horrible at the same time.
I hope that the workout is reflected in my weight loss for the week. I'd love to lose 4 pounds this week to get back on track.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 45: Ooooooh we're half way there!
Today's post is going to be a little bit different than most of my others have been. It's not a post about my day. Although, to tell you where I found my inspiration, I need to tell you a little bit about my day... so here it goes.
For my job, I can work at home occasionally. Today was one of those days. I also get to watch TV when I'm home. Typically, I choose some crappy show that I don't care about to make background noise while I do my work. Today, I had on what I thought was a stand-up act by Kevin Smith, who directed movies such as Jay & Silent Bob, Clerks, etc... It turned out to be more of a Q&A session, with 1 Q and 1 A... but that A took two hours. Really, it was just listening to some funny stories about his life.
One of the stories he told was about a time he was watching a DVD about Wayne Gretzky. For those of you who are not that into sports, Gretzky's one of the best ice hockey players to ever play the game. In this DVD, Gretzky said that the best advice his father ever gave him was "Don't go where the puck is, go where the puck is going to be." Smith made an observation that this can apply to any aspect of your life. For him, it was directing movies. For me, it's a lot more than that. In order to tell you why, I want to give you a visual...
For my job, I can work at home occasionally. Today was one of those days. I also get to watch TV when I'm home. Typically, I choose some crappy show that I don't care about to make background noise while I do my work. Today, I had on what I thought was a stand-up act by Kevin Smith, who directed movies such as Jay & Silent Bob, Clerks, etc... It turned out to be more of a Q&A session, with 1 Q and 1 A... but that A took two hours. Really, it was just listening to some funny stories about his life.
One of the stories he told was about a time he was watching a DVD about Wayne Gretzky. For those of you who are not that into sports, Gretzky's one of the best ice hockey players to ever play the game. In this DVD, Gretzky said that the best advice his father ever gave him was "Don't go where the puck is, go where the puck is going to be." Smith made an observation that this can apply to any aspect of your life. For him, it was directing movies. For me, it's a lot more than that. In order to tell you why, I want to give you a visual...
This picture has 3 Scenarios (even though the Gretzky quote only really calls for 2). I'll explain all three, and why that quote by Gretzky's dad makes so much sense and can really put things into perspective.
In the first scenario, Gretzky is going to the puck, but the puck is moving away from where it is. This means that Gretzky's behind the puck and won't get to influence the play, there will be a turn over, or the game will slow down. If you're a hockey fan, you know that speed is an important factor in winning a game.
For me, if I'm going to where the puck is, I'm standing still. I don't want to stand still. I want to work to make myself a better person, physically and emotionally.
In the second scenario, Gretsky's over shot the puck. He's gone too fast and blown the play. This describes the way I used to approach weight loss and fitness. I would go full steam ahead with great aspirations. Usually, I'd drop a lot of weight really fast, then burn out. I was either not eating enough, or working out too much. Going from zero to sixty is no way to change your life.
The third scenario is what Gretzky's dad was talking about. Go to where the puck is going to be. This is where you'll be the most effective. You're going in the right direction, and you're not trying to get there too fast. Think about how this applies to your life. I'm creating relatively short term goals to keep me motivated and I'm working towards those goals. There's no sense in setting a goal to get my weight down to 200lbs when that's not feasible in the short term. I can't set a goal right now to run a marathon either. I'm just not physically fit enough and won't be for at least another six months. Instead, I'm setting shorter term, more attainable goals that I can meet and be proud of. THAT'S what's going to keep you motivated long term.
I'm not saying that setting a goal to be 200 pounds is a bad idea. I have that goal, but it's not my primary goal. Right now, my focus is to lose an average of 2 pounds a week for 90 days. I'm working out a reasonable amount, and I haven't set any goals that I can't accomplish. I like the taste of alcohol, so I didn't make a goal to give up drinking.
When you're losing motivation in a workout or in any of your own personal goals, remember to keep moving, but don't go too fast or you'll blow the play.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Days 43 & 44
Since I noticed my weight not changing last week, I decided to really focus on my nutrition this week. Today I resisted a few temptations. I worked from home all day so I had access to pretty much everything that I wanted. I also could have gone out and gotten anything that I wanted. That wasn't as much of a temptation, though.
I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast, a sandwich and some strawberries for lunch, some popcorn, some more cereal, and Brinner. We had eggs with ham and hash browns. Delicious.
Before Brinner, however, my wife and I went for a run. I thought it was going to be a lot longer than it was, but it turned out to be just over a 5k. I didn't time the run, but we pushed pretty hard for most of it. I'm proud of the run. I also drank tons of water and was totally hydrated for it, which I think helped a lot.
I forgot to meditate yesterday until I was in bed. So I sat in bed and meditated for a while before I dove into my book. It was nice because I really decompressed from the day and started to feel pretty tired. I normally read for about 30-45 minutes before I get to sleep, but I only read about 4-5 pages before my eyes got too heavy to continue. I thought about not reading at all because I was so relaxed, but I am really into my book right now.
Tonight, when I finally get to bed, I plan on meditating in bed again. I was going to do it after our run this evening, but I wasn't even out of the shower until 8:15, then we had dinner and watched a TV show.
I'm pretty confident that I can drop a bunch of weight this week if I really continue to focus on it. When I meditate, I try to space out, but last night I was thinking about my body and how it felt at that moment. Was a hydrated, did I feel bloated from dinner, and how did my muscles feel? It's really a great thing to do right when you wake up or right before bed because it puts you into the right frame of mind. Try it out this week and see how it makes you feel!
I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast, a sandwich and some strawberries for lunch, some popcorn, some more cereal, and Brinner. We had eggs with ham and hash browns. Delicious.
Before Brinner, however, my wife and I went for a run. I thought it was going to be a lot longer than it was, but it turned out to be just over a 5k. I didn't time the run, but we pushed pretty hard for most of it. I'm proud of the run. I also drank tons of water and was totally hydrated for it, which I think helped a lot.
I forgot to meditate yesterday until I was in bed. So I sat in bed and meditated for a while before I dove into my book. It was nice because I really decompressed from the day and started to feel pretty tired. I normally read for about 30-45 minutes before I get to sleep, but I only read about 4-5 pages before my eyes got too heavy to continue. I thought about not reading at all because I was so relaxed, but I am really into my book right now.
Tonight, when I finally get to bed, I plan on meditating in bed again. I was going to do it after our run this evening, but I wasn't even out of the shower until 8:15, then we had dinner and watched a TV show.
I'm pretty confident that I can drop a bunch of weight this week if I really continue to focus on it. When I meditate, I try to space out, but last night I was thinking about my body and how it felt at that moment. Was a hydrated, did I feel bloated from dinner, and how did my muscles feel? It's really a great thing to do right when you wake up or right before bed because it puts you into the right frame of mind. Try it out this week and see how it makes you feel!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Start of Week 7
Something to think about for this week... exercise is a great way for managing stress. I used to drink stress away, but it never really worked. I think for the evening it made things feel better, but it never made me feel better long term. Working out as frequently as I have been lately, I feel like a much calmer person. I'm more in touch with myself and I can think more clearly.
I used to get stressed out about money, work, and whatever else happened to be occurring that week. Although those things still manage to pop up in my life, I'm in a better frame of mind for solving these problems instead of just freaking out or complaining about it. Now I'm capable of doing something about it.
I'm beginning to think about goals for myself for after these 90 days are over. On Friday, I had a training for work that the instructor made us hyper focus on something small. The activity was to take a raisin, look at it, then eat it. Simple, right? But when we looked at the raisin, we were told to really observe it. Roll it around in our fingers, look at the dimples, curves, wrinkles, etc. Then we were supposed to put it in our mouth and focus on how it felt, what it tasted like, etc. Although I didn't put the raisin in my mouth (I had no idea who had touched it before me, I also hadn't washed my hands recently and I had just been rolling it around in my hand for about 2 minutes, gross.), I took the time to close my eyes and meditate. Letting my mind go blank for the first time in a long time really put things into perspective. I was shocked to open my eyes and be in the room that I was in. I literally got lost in my own mind... thinking about nothing.
For any of you who want to try something new, try meditation. I think this week that I'll focus on meditating for 10 minutes every day to see how it helps. Try it with me and let me know how it works. Really try to clear your mind.
Here are my pictures for today. My weight was 263. Same as last week. Disappointing, but like I said yesterday, I knew I wasn't gonna do well on this weigh in. I'll just have to step it up this week. My issue was consumables, not exercise. I'll get that in check. for sure.
I used to get stressed out about money, work, and whatever else happened to be occurring that week. Although those things still manage to pop up in my life, I'm in a better frame of mind for solving these problems instead of just freaking out or complaining about it. Now I'm capable of doing something about it.
I'm beginning to think about goals for myself for after these 90 days are over. On Friday, I had a training for work that the instructor made us hyper focus on something small. The activity was to take a raisin, look at it, then eat it. Simple, right? But when we looked at the raisin, we were told to really observe it. Roll it around in our fingers, look at the dimples, curves, wrinkles, etc. Then we were supposed to put it in our mouth and focus on how it felt, what it tasted like, etc. Although I didn't put the raisin in my mouth (I had no idea who had touched it before me, I also hadn't washed my hands recently and I had just been rolling it around in my hand for about 2 minutes, gross.), I took the time to close my eyes and meditate. Letting my mind go blank for the first time in a long time really put things into perspective. I was shocked to open my eyes and be in the room that I was in. I literally got lost in my own mind... thinking about nothing.
For any of you who want to try something new, try meditation. I think this week that I'll focus on meditating for 10 minutes every day to see how it helps. Try it with me and let me know how it works. Really try to clear your mind.
Here are my pictures for today. My weight was 263. Same as last week. Disappointing, but like I said yesterday, I knew I wasn't gonna do well on this weigh in. I'll just have to step it up this week. My issue was consumables, not exercise. I'll get that in check. for sure.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Days 41 & 42: Father's Day
Today is Father's Day. So first off, Happy Father's Day to all of the father's that read my blog (I'm pretty sure my father is the only one who does).
I need to admit that this week has not been the best week for me nutritionally. I had chips and ice cream on more than one occasion. I also drank every drink that I was allotted for the week. I'm not confident that I will reach my weight loss goal for the week, but I'm hopeful. This is just a minor speed bump for me, though. I'm still confident that I can reach my goals for the 90 days.
I've been very conscious of my workouts for this week. I even made it a point to work out 6 times to make up for last week, even though I can't count one of the workouts towards last weeks goal, I wanted to make good on it.
Yesterday I tried to redo the child-like run that I had done the day before with my wife. I wasn't as successful. I pooped out really quickly. I think because it was really hot and humid, and I was dehydrated. This just proved that I need to be hydrated to perform well in my workouts. I will have to make it a point to drink more water next time before I leave. I also pulled my butt. Sigh...
Today, I had plans to have dinner with my dad for Father's Day. I also wanted to make sure I could get a good workout in today since my weigh in is tomorrow. So I figured I'd incorporate the two. I rode my bike to my dad's. My wife was nice enough to bring my bike rack and a bag of clothes to work with her this morning. When she met us at my dad's house, I could shower and then be ready for dinner.
The ride was pretty nice. I'm finding that I push myself harder now than I used to. Instead of just making the ride as fast and as short as possible, I added some extra stuff to challenge myself. I added an extra 8 miles or so in the beginning, and then added a climb at the end that added about 2-3 miles to the end of the ride, but really made me work. This climb was categorized as a 5. I'm not sure what all of the category requirements are, but 5 is the easiest of the categories, 1 is the hardest. This hill was 1.7 miles long and went up 328 feet. Not horribly difficult, but hard enough at the end of my 41 mile ride. I averaged 16.4 mph and took about two and a half hours.
Speaking of challenges, how did you do with your goal this week?
I need to admit that this week has not been the best week for me nutritionally. I had chips and ice cream on more than one occasion. I also drank every drink that I was allotted for the week. I'm not confident that I will reach my weight loss goal for the week, but I'm hopeful. This is just a minor speed bump for me, though. I'm still confident that I can reach my goals for the 90 days.
I've been very conscious of my workouts for this week. I even made it a point to work out 6 times to make up for last week, even though I can't count one of the workouts towards last weeks goal, I wanted to make good on it.
Yesterday I tried to redo the child-like run that I had done the day before with my wife. I wasn't as successful. I pooped out really quickly. I think because it was really hot and humid, and I was dehydrated. This just proved that I need to be hydrated to perform well in my workouts. I will have to make it a point to drink more water next time before I leave. I also pulled my butt. Sigh...
Today, I had plans to have dinner with my dad for Father's Day. I also wanted to make sure I could get a good workout in today since my weigh in is tomorrow. So I figured I'd incorporate the two. I rode my bike to my dad's. My wife was nice enough to bring my bike rack and a bag of clothes to work with her this morning. When she met us at my dad's house, I could shower and then be ready for dinner.
The ride was pretty nice. I'm finding that I push myself harder now than I used to. Instead of just making the ride as fast and as short as possible, I added some extra stuff to challenge myself. I added an extra 8 miles or so in the beginning, and then added a climb at the end that added about 2-3 miles to the end of the ride, but really made me work. This climb was categorized as a 5. I'm not sure what all of the category requirements are, but 5 is the easiest of the categories, 1 is the hardest. This hill was 1.7 miles long and went up 328 feet. Not horribly difficult, but hard enough at the end of my 41 mile ride. I averaged 16.4 mph and took about two and a half hours.
Speaking of challenges, how did you do with your goal this week?
Friday, June 17, 2011
Days 39 & 40: Feelin like a kid again
I don't know if those of you who read this blog grew up with a forest/wooded area anywhere near your house, but I did. When I was a kid, we would go out there and make forts, cut branches and make weapons, carve our names into trees, and run full speed while twigs and branches smacked us in the face.
Today, my wife and I were planning on going to run a 5 mile loop around Valley Forge Park, but by the time she got home from work, the traffic was building up and the drive would have made the run not so worth it. Instead, we ran down to a watershed path that I had been eying up for the last few weeks. I'd seen people turn onto it, but had never been able to see more than a few feet up the path. When we got there after running our first mile, we turned onto the path and found a big open road looking thing... made entirely out of giant rocks. At the end of the road, we found a bridge. In order to cross, we had to go up about 10 steps or so, then down the other side, the road continued ahead, but instead of rocks, it was 2 foot tall grass. Disappointing.
As I started to think that we'd wasted our time, my wife pointed out a trail that went along the river, so we took it.
I can honestly say that I haven't felt like this while working out in a really long time. When we started on the trail, I was behind my wife because it was kind of narrow, not to mention all the mud pits in the middle of the trail. We got into a more open area, so we ran side by side for a few steps because we were talking, and then I don't know what took over, but I took off running. I was leaping over fallen tree trunks, slipping on the mud, blocking tree branches from smacking me in the face, and cutting around corners. Basically, I was running with reckless abandon like I did when I was a kid. I LOVED IT! I think I've found one of my new favorite activities. Trail running. I like not knowing what's around the corner, having to watch my footing so I don't step on a root or a rock. I enjoy leaping over fallen trees. And as always, I love working out with my wife.
We ended up going about 4 miles on the run. Shorter than I had planned, but when we were on the trail, we were really running pretty hard. Also, it's pretty difficult to use mapmyrun.com to map a trail run!
Now I'm going to give a shout-out to some friends of mine who blog as well. They're friends from college who got married a few months before my wife and I and then moved to Wyoming. They're enjoying their active lifestyles out there, and I admire that about them (riding bikes to work, going on hikes, etc.) About a month ago, they gave me a Camelbak hydration system. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a backpack you can fill with water and then drink from a straw that's attached to your shoulder. I can't wait to try this thing out, I'm just waiting to have a longer run to make using it worth cleaning it later. So thanks Jill & Eric! You can click here to check out there blog.
Today, my wife and I were planning on going to run a 5 mile loop around Valley Forge Park, but by the time she got home from work, the traffic was building up and the drive would have made the run not so worth it. Instead, we ran down to a watershed path that I had been eying up for the last few weeks. I'd seen people turn onto it, but had never been able to see more than a few feet up the path. When we got there after running our first mile, we turned onto the path and found a big open road looking thing... made entirely out of giant rocks. At the end of the road, we found a bridge. In order to cross, we had to go up about 10 steps or so, then down the other side, the road continued ahead, but instead of rocks, it was 2 foot tall grass. Disappointing.
As I started to think that we'd wasted our time, my wife pointed out a trail that went along the river, so we took it.
I can honestly say that I haven't felt like this while working out in a really long time. When we started on the trail, I was behind my wife because it was kind of narrow, not to mention all the mud pits in the middle of the trail. We got into a more open area, so we ran side by side for a few steps because we were talking, and then I don't know what took over, but I took off running. I was leaping over fallen tree trunks, slipping on the mud, blocking tree branches from smacking me in the face, and cutting around corners. Basically, I was running with reckless abandon like I did when I was a kid. I LOVED IT! I think I've found one of my new favorite activities. Trail running. I like not knowing what's around the corner, having to watch my footing so I don't step on a root or a rock. I enjoy leaping over fallen trees. And as always, I love working out with my wife.
We ended up going about 4 miles on the run. Shorter than I had planned, but when we were on the trail, we were really running pretty hard. Also, it's pretty difficult to use mapmyrun.com to map a trail run!
Now I'm going to give a shout-out to some friends of mine who blog as well. They're friends from college who got married a few months before my wife and I and then moved to Wyoming. They're enjoying their active lifestyles out there, and I admire that about them (riding bikes to work, going on hikes, etc.) About a month ago, they gave me a Camelbak hydration system. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a backpack you can fill with water and then drink from a straw that's attached to your shoulder. I can't wait to try this thing out, I'm just waiting to have a longer run to make using it worth cleaning it later. So thanks Jill & Eric! You can click here to check out there blog.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Days 37 & 38. Back to running
I got to go for a run today! And I enjoyed it!
After working for an hour or two this morning, I decided that I needed to get out for a run. My calf has been feeling fine. Running at Frisbee on Monday felt fine (despite having ridden almost 70 miles the day before). So I thought, lets do it. My wife told me to take it easy and only do 3-4 miles. I did 4.5 whoops. I think more than anything, I got bored before I got tired or mentally exhausted. I guess that's a good thing. I just need to figure out how to entertain myself better when I'm running.
When I bike, there's so much stimulation. The bumps, the wind, the view changes rapidly, you have to be more careful of cars, you can check your speed, distance, how long you've been out, etc. That's not to say that I don't enjoy biking, because I do. More than running. However, with running, it's complete freedom from pretty much everything. All you need to focus on is breathing and not falling down.
That's what I've come to enjoy about running. I like to get lost in thought on runs. Today I had too much work going through my head. Luckily I used that as motivation to get home faster so I could finish it up. I just wish my schedule allowed me to run in the evening rather than in the morning so I could finish what I needed to for the day and then be able to enjoy my run, bike ride, tennis game, or whatever physical activity that I've chosen for that day. But I like to think of the positives. I got to run again, and it felt good.
I took a picture of myself after the run to show how sweaty I was after running in the humidity at 70 degrees.
I'm aware that it's hard to see how sweaty I am because my whole shirt looks like it's the same color. I assure you that it is not the same color it was when I left.
I hope that those of you who took my challenge are doing well with your goals for the week. I've only heard from one or two of you about the goals, but maybe you're more of the quiet type and don't want to share with the public or me about your goals. That's fine. I just hope that you're doing well and you're seeing improvements in the areas that you want to see improvements in.
After working for an hour or two this morning, I decided that I needed to get out for a run. My calf has been feeling fine. Running at Frisbee on Monday felt fine (despite having ridden almost 70 miles the day before). So I thought, lets do it. My wife told me to take it easy and only do 3-4 miles. I did 4.5 whoops. I think more than anything, I got bored before I got tired or mentally exhausted. I guess that's a good thing. I just need to figure out how to entertain myself better when I'm running.
When I bike, there's so much stimulation. The bumps, the wind, the view changes rapidly, you have to be more careful of cars, you can check your speed, distance, how long you've been out, etc. That's not to say that I don't enjoy biking, because I do. More than running. However, with running, it's complete freedom from pretty much everything. All you need to focus on is breathing and not falling down.
That's what I've come to enjoy about running. I like to get lost in thought on runs. Today I had too much work going through my head. Luckily I used that as motivation to get home faster so I could finish it up. I just wish my schedule allowed me to run in the evening rather than in the morning so I could finish what I needed to for the day and then be able to enjoy my run, bike ride, tennis game, or whatever physical activity that I've chosen for that day. But I like to think of the positives. I got to run again, and it felt good.
I took a picture of myself after the run to show how sweaty I was after running in the humidity at 70 degrees.
I hope that those of you who took my challenge are doing well with your goals for the week. I've only heard from one or two of you about the goals, but maybe you're more of the quiet type and don't want to share with the public or me about your goals. That's fine. I just hope that you're doing well and you're seeing improvements in the areas that you want to see improvements in.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Day 36 & How to write a gooooooooal!
Today was pretty similar to most of my Monday's. I worked and then went to my Ultimate Frisbee game. We lost. I had a decent stop on defense and a pretty awesome hammer throw for a point. I'm trying to pull the good out of the game. Really what it came down to, though, was that we were over matched physically. But that's not the point of today's post.
This morning, I challenged you to create a goal for a week to see what you learn about the goal and yourself. What I didn't think about until this afternoon is that some of you may not know how to write a goal. Now, I'm gonna teach you how and use my goals as an example.
The first thing you need to do is identify an area of change. For me, I had a few areas of my life I wanted to change. I identified that I wanted to lose weight, drink less, exercise more, and drink more water. Perfect. Step one finished.
Step two is to objectify the goal. I could have said, I want to lose weight and accomplished that goal by dropping a pound. But is losing one pound over 90 days really a change? Would I have learned anything? No, absolutely not. I also wouldn't have been able to drink one less beer a month, worked out once more a year, or had one extra glass of water for the decade and accomplished anything at all. I had to objectify these goals. And so do you.
Think about your goal, figure out what's realistic yet challenging, and give it a number. For me, I wanted to drink more water. That was easy. They recommend 8 glasses a day. I figured a glass of water is 8oz. I multiplied 8 by 8 and got 64. There are 34oz in a liter, multiplied by two and I'm at 68, over the recommended amount. Goal written.
I wanted to work out more. I had weeks here and there where I would work out five times in a week, but not consistently. I wanted to lose weight, so I would need to work out on a regular basis. Getting two in a week was easy, having only two days off would be difficult, but realistic. So far I've only missed it once and it was on purpose so I didn't burn out before a big bike ride.
Here's step three. I'll use my most complicated to objectify goal, alcohol. Make your goal cheat proof. I needed to allow myself to enjoy alcohol in a controlled and safe way. I figured a beer or two during the week wasn't too out of the ordinary for most people in this country, so I allowed myself to have some. Initially I thought that I would let myself have up to four drinks on a week day and six on a weekend. Then I though, well, what is a weekend day and what is a week day? I work on Friday, but not Saturday or Sunday. However, Friday nights are better to drink than Sunday nights. I'd need less restraint on a Friday than a Sunday, so I thought, lets make Friday a weekend and not Sunday. Next, I thought that if I set my week day goal to be a maximum of four drinks, I could drink one drink on four of the five days. That doesn't change anything!
I had to force myself to commit to having at least 3 days off a week. That meant I could do four drinks in two days. But, could I really allow myself to drink four drinks in one day? No, that's getting drunk. I made myself set the goal to a maximum of two drinks in one day and I can only have two days during the week days that I could consume alcohol. The weekends were easier. If I want to drink both Friday and Saturday, I can, or I can choose one and have up to 6. That allows me to realistically enjoy myself depending on who I'm hanging out with and what I'm doing.
The best thing about the alcohol goal and what I've allowed myself... I don't even use it half the time. Two weekends ago I had one drink all weekend. I didn't even want more than that.
These goals have changed my life. I want to inspire others to set goals for themselves and change their lives.
Take my challenge. Set a goal. I'm asking for one week. If you can give me one week, you might change something significant in your life. If you want to give me more than one week, that's wonderful! Please share with me your objectified goals. If you need help, hit me up with an e-mail or facebook message. I hope this helps!
This morning, I challenged you to create a goal for a week to see what you learn about the goal and yourself. What I didn't think about until this afternoon is that some of you may not know how to write a goal. Now, I'm gonna teach you how and use my goals as an example.
The first thing you need to do is identify an area of change. For me, I had a few areas of my life I wanted to change. I identified that I wanted to lose weight, drink less, exercise more, and drink more water. Perfect. Step one finished.
Step two is to objectify the goal. I could have said, I want to lose weight and accomplished that goal by dropping a pound. But is losing one pound over 90 days really a change? Would I have learned anything? No, absolutely not. I also wouldn't have been able to drink one less beer a month, worked out once more a year, or had one extra glass of water for the decade and accomplished anything at all. I had to objectify these goals. And so do you.
Think about your goal, figure out what's realistic yet challenging, and give it a number. For me, I wanted to drink more water. That was easy. They recommend 8 glasses a day. I figured a glass of water is 8oz. I multiplied 8 by 8 and got 64. There are 34oz in a liter, multiplied by two and I'm at 68, over the recommended amount. Goal written.
I wanted to work out more. I had weeks here and there where I would work out five times in a week, but not consistently. I wanted to lose weight, so I would need to work out on a regular basis. Getting two in a week was easy, having only two days off would be difficult, but realistic. So far I've only missed it once and it was on purpose so I didn't burn out before a big bike ride.
Here's step three. I'll use my most complicated to objectify goal, alcohol. Make your goal cheat proof. I needed to allow myself to enjoy alcohol in a controlled and safe way. I figured a beer or two during the week wasn't too out of the ordinary for most people in this country, so I allowed myself to have some. Initially I thought that I would let myself have up to four drinks on a week day and six on a weekend. Then I though, well, what is a weekend day and what is a week day? I work on Friday, but not Saturday or Sunday. However, Friday nights are better to drink than Sunday nights. I'd need less restraint on a Friday than a Sunday, so I thought, lets make Friday a weekend and not Sunday. Next, I thought that if I set my week day goal to be a maximum of four drinks, I could drink one drink on four of the five days. That doesn't change anything!
I had to force myself to commit to having at least 3 days off a week. That meant I could do four drinks in two days. But, could I really allow myself to drink four drinks in one day? No, that's getting drunk. I made myself set the goal to a maximum of two drinks in one day and I can only have two days during the week days that I could consume alcohol. The weekends were easier. If I want to drink both Friday and Saturday, I can, or I can choose one and have up to 6. That allows me to realistically enjoy myself depending on who I'm hanging out with and what I'm doing.
The best thing about the alcohol goal and what I've allowed myself... I don't even use it half the time. Two weekends ago I had one drink all weekend. I didn't even want more than that.
These goals have changed my life. I want to inspire others to set goals for themselves and change their lives.
Take my challenge. Set a goal. I'm asking for one week. If you can give me one week, you might change something significant in your life. If you want to give me more than one week, that's wonderful! Please share with me your objectified goals. If you need help, hit me up with an e-mail or facebook message. I hope this helps!
Start of Week 6
This morning I weighed in at 263!!! Back on track.
I feel like this week is going to be a good one. I'm having some breakthroughs in my thought processes lately. I feel happier. I feel like I have more energy. Also, check out these pictures!
The pictures on the left are the before pictures and the ones on the right were from last night. I really like to see this kind of change. I know I posted some side by sides before, but this one really looks obvious to me. It's more obvious in the side view. Look at my stomach!
I don't think I even need to put a big post up today with a bunch of inspiring words. Look at those pictures. If you read this blog for inspiration. Just look at what you can do with a little bit of dedication and a desire to change your habits, and more importantly your life. Luckily, my goals all correlate to an overall objective of weight loss and it's more tangible than other goals that we can set for ourselves.
At the beginning of my week 6, I challenge you to set a goal for yourself this week and see what you learn from it, and more importantly, what you learn about yourself. Also, I'd love it if you would comment and share with me what you're going to change!
I feel like this week is going to be a good one. I'm having some breakthroughs in my thought processes lately. I feel happier. I feel like I have more energy. Also, check out these pictures!
The pictures on the left are the before pictures and the ones on the right were from last night. I really like to see this kind of change. I know I posted some side by sides before, but this one really looks obvious to me. It's more obvious in the side view. Look at my stomach!
I don't think I even need to put a big post up today with a bunch of inspiring words. Look at those pictures. If you read this blog for inspiration. Just look at what you can do with a little bit of dedication and a desire to change your habits, and more importantly your life. Luckily, my goals all correlate to an overall objective of weight loss and it's more tangible than other goals that we can set for ourselves.
At the beginning of my week 6, I challenge you to set a goal for yourself this week and see what you learn from it, and more importantly, what you learn about yourself. Also, I'd love it if you would comment and share with me what you're going to change!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Days 33, 34, & 35
I haven't posted this weekend because I've been busy, and to be honest, the majority of you don't want to hear about all of the stuff my wife and I did on our anniversary. Besides, this blog isn't so much about my life as it is about my goals and my health. So for those of you who want to hear about the anniversary weekend, we had dinner, we had drinks, we had a picnic, we visited a winery, and we rode bikes.
Correct. My wife, as awesome as she is, let me sign up for a bike ride on our anniversary. This ride was called the French Creek Iron Tour. My brother, friend, my wife and I all signed up for a 64 mile trip through Kimberton, PA and the surrounding areas. My wife intended on doing a 32 mile trip regardless of what she had signed up for, but she finished the big ride. She told us before her turn off point that she felt strong and wanted to keep going, even if she pulled out for the 50 mile loop instead of the 64. At that turn off, we told her it was only an extra 14 miles, no big deal, so she decided to stay with us and even though I know she was hurting, she finished strong!
I was pretty excited for this ride. It was one of those trips that we did for the first time two years ago and missed last year because of our wedding. This ride was the first group ride that both my brother and my wife participated in two years ago. At the time, we had been engaged for about 6 months, and my brother had a bike for about 4 weeks. He even told me today that he thinks the 50 mile ride we did last time doubled his miles for the year at that point.
It was nice to be back up in the hills again in some areas that I'd never been. I won't bore you with the details of the ride, but I felt pretty strong in the hills today. Something I haven't felt in a while. I was passing people on a regular basis, and if I could figure out how to keep my feet from getting so sore, I would have been perfectly fine. My legs didn't give out on me at all. I'm also learning more and more about positive thought and how it effects me.
During a few brutal climbs, I repeated to myself, and to whoever was around me sometimes, that I was having fun, I was enjoying myself, the climbs, and I was happy to be on my bike. I climbed with a smile (I also explained to my brother at one point that even fake smiles release endorphins) and found that repeating to myself positive thoughts that brought the attention away from the fact that my leg muscles felt like they were on fire and my lungs felt like they were about to explode really helped!
On the car ride home I expressed to my wife that I may be interested in taking some yoga classes. I'm finding that being more in tune with my body and my emotions really helps with working out and even controlling my urges.
Overall, I'm happy with my progress. I'm hopeful that my weight is back on track tomorrow despite only getting in 4 workouts this week (I was saving some energy for the bike ride). If I am on track and I'm at 263, that will be my first 10 pounds lost, hopefully of many more to come.
So in closing, I want to say that I'm proud of my wife for doubling the mileage that she planned on doing today and I'm so happy to have her in my life. Her support has been above and beyond anything that I could ask for. I can't wait to continue years and years of happiness and athletic pursuits!
Correct. My wife, as awesome as she is, let me sign up for a bike ride on our anniversary. This ride was called the French Creek Iron Tour. My brother, friend, my wife and I all signed up for a 64 mile trip through Kimberton, PA and the surrounding areas. My wife intended on doing a 32 mile trip regardless of what she had signed up for, but she finished the big ride. She told us before her turn off point that she felt strong and wanted to keep going, even if she pulled out for the 50 mile loop instead of the 64. At that turn off, we told her it was only an extra 14 miles, no big deal, so she decided to stay with us and even though I know she was hurting, she finished strong!
I was pretty excited for this ride. It was one of those trips that we did for the first time two years ago and missed last year because of our wedding. This ride was the first group ride that both my brother and my wife participated in two years ago. At the time, we had been engaged for about 6 months, and my brother had a bike for about 4 weeks. He even told me today that he thinks the 50 mile ride we did last time doubled his miles for the year at that point.
It was nice to be back up in the hills again in some areas that I'd never been. I won't bore you with the details of the ride, but I felt pretty strong in the hills today. Something I haven't felt in a while. I was passing people on a regular basis, and if I could figure out how to keep my feet from getting so sore, I would have been perfectly fine. My legs didn't give out on me at all. I'm also learning more and more about positive thought and how it effects me.
During a few brutal climbs, I repeated to myself, and to whoever was around me sometimes, that I was having fun, I was enjoying myself, the climbs, and I was happy to be on my bike. I climbed with a smile (I also explained to my brother at one point that even fake smiles release endorphins) and found that repeating to myself positive thoughts that brought the attention away from the fact that my leg muscles felt like they were on fire and my lungs felt like they were about to explode really helped!
On the car ride home I expressed to my wife that I may be interested in taking some yoga classes. I'm finding that being more in tune with my body and my emotions really helps with working out and even controlling my urges.
Overall, I'm happy with my progress. I'm hopeful that my weight is back on track tomorrow despite only getting in 4 workouts this week (I was saving some energy for the bike ride). If I am on track and I'm at 263, that will be my first 10 pounds lost, hopefully of many more to come.
So in closing, I want to say that I'm proud of my wife for doubling the mileage that she planned on doing today and I'm so happy to have her in my life. Her support has been above and beyond anything that I could ask for. I can't wait to continue years and years of happiness and athletic pursuits!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Day 31 & 32
Sorry I didn't get a chance to post last night. I was pretty busy with work. My brother in law has been staying with us for a few days to shadow a friend of mine at work, and my wife was trying to use my computer to study while I was decompressing for the day.
Yesterday was actually a pretty different day than I've had in a long time, overall it was relatively boring since I spent most of the day working, but I woke up and went for a bike ride which was new. Normally my rides are reserved for the weekend or evening time. Being out of the house before 8:00 for a ride was actually pretty nice. I did a short ride, though, just 13-14 miles in a little less than an hour, but I had a good average speed (17.2mph) and I did it on an empty stomach. I felt strong, which was awesome. Something I'll have to try again. Hopefully that strong feeling translates into my ride on Sunday... there will be many more hills and they'll be longer and steeper. I'm still psyched for it, though.
Today was relatively uneventful. It's extremely hot outside today, 100 degrees from what I've heard, and by the time I had finished enough work to be able to get out for some kind of workout, it was way too hot. I thought I'd wait for tonight to do something, a short run, maybe some tennis, but I got side tracked cooking dinner, then eating dinner, and now my wife wants to go to Rita's. I'll take the opportunity for the walk (if this storm holds out for a little). Hopefully I can do a short run in the morning, very slowly, to keep my calf from blowing out. It's felt better for the last few days.
So no big inspiring speeches or anything today. I did spent some time watching a running movie about Steve Prefontaine who was an incredible runner in the 70's but was killed in a car accident at the age of 24 or so. I really enjoy watching movies and reading about people who are inspiring athletes. Lance Armstrong may be an exception because I don't have a very high opinion of him as a person, although I admire what he's done for cancer research.
Anyway, I'm excited to get back out running again, I hope that I can do it in the morning, but I'll have to see how I'm feeling and really listen to my body. I'm definitely getting older and more mature because I've been told for years to listen to my body and stop when it hurts and do all those things, but I never listened. As one of my friends has famously said, "If it hurts, add weight." Very recently I told him, "If it hurts, stop, you're gonna injure yourself." I need to take my own advice sometimes.
Yesterday was actually a pretty different day than I've had in a long time, overall it was relatively boring since I spent most of the day working, but I woke up and went for a bike ride which was new. Normally my rides are reserved for the weekend or evening time. Being out of the house before 8:00 for a ride was actually pretty nice. I did a short ride, though, just 13-14 miles in a little less than an hour, but I had a good average speed (17.2mph) and I did it on an empty stomach. I felt strong, which was awesome. Something I'll have to try again. Hopefully that strong feeling translates into my ride on Sunday... there will be many more hills and they'll be longer and steeper. I'm still psyched for it, though.
Today was relatively uneventful. It's extremely hot outside today, 100 degrees from what I've heard, and by the time I had finished enough work to be able to get out for some kind of workout, it was way too hot. I thought I'd wait for tonight to do something, a short run, maybe some tennis, but I got side tracked cooking dinner, then eating dinner, and now my wife wants to go to Rita's. I'll take the opportunity for the walk (if this storm holds out for a little). Hopefully I can do a short run in the morning, very slowly, to keep my calf from blowing out. It's felt better for the last few days.
So no big inspiring speeches or anything today. I did spent some time watching a running movie about Steve Prefontaine who was an incredible runner in the 70's but was killed in a car accident at the age of 24 or so. I really enjoy watching movies and reading about people who are inspiring athletes. Lance Armstrong may be an exception because I don't have a very high opinion of him as a person, although I admire what he's done for cancer research.
Anyway, I'm excited to get back out running again, I hope that I can do it in the morning, but I'll have to see how I'm feeling and really listen to my body. I'm definitely getting older and more mature because I've been told for years to listen to my body and stop when it hurts and do all those things, but I never listened. As one of my friends has famously said, "If it hurts, add weight." Very recently I told him, "If it hurts, stop, you're gonna injure yourself." I need to take my own advice sometimes.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Day 30: 1/3 there
Today is a pretty pivotal day. As of this morning, I am a third of the way through my first 90 days. Time for some reflection.
I've said before that I think my water goal is pretty much met. I will continue to track it for the purpose of this blog, but I'm relatively certain that this is one of those habits that only take a week or two to create. Try it and see.
The workout goal is great! I can't wait to work out every day. I feel so great afterwords and I feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done. I'm beginning to think that I enjoy running. Since my calf injury cropped up, I haven't really been able to go out and run much. Also, since I'm training for the bike ride this weekend, I'm really focused on getting time in the saddle. My wife really loves to run, and I like to work out with her. Cycling is fun for her to a degree, but she's a runner at heart and I know that. I would love to be able to say that I ran a half or full marathon, and maybe I'll make that a goal for myself at some point, but for now, if I can hit a 8 mile run on a regular basis, I'll be thrilled!
Alcohol is no problem anymore. I am completely in control of myself and don't even think about it nearly as often as I used to. There are times when I see others drinking and want a drink just because others are having one. It's like when you walk into a restaurant and you're not really hungry, but you see a server walking out with a plate of food that looks and smells so good that you're all of a sudden starving and want exactly that plate of food. Here's the thing, though... I still really enjoy the taste of alcohol. I love beer and scotch and rum. I have a pretty good pallet for it. That's why I still allow myself the occasional drink.
I don't want to deprive myself of life's pleasures. In the past that's why my diet/workout plans have failed. I wasn't able to enjoy myself. Last night I had nacho's for dinner. But when I felt full, I stopped eating. That never used to happen. I even tweeted that my full-o-meter just started working again. I think for the first time in about 10 years or more. I now know what it feels like to feel full. It's really a wonderful feeling to know that I'm changing myself for the better.
I've said before that I think my water goal is pretty much met. I will continue to track it for the purpose of this blog, but I'm relatively certain that this is one of those habits that only take a week or two to create. Try it and see.
The workout goal is great! I can't wait to work out every day. I feel so great afterwords and I feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done. I'm beginning to think that I enjoy running. Since my calf injury cropped up, I haven't really been able to go out and run much. Also, since I'm training for the bike ride this weekend, I'm really focused on getting time in the saddle. My wife really loves to run, and I like to work out with her. Cycling is fun for her to a degree, but she's a runner at heart and I know that. I would love to be able to say that I ran a half or full marathon, and maybe I'll make that a goal for myself at some point, but for now, if I can hit a 8 mile run on a regular basis, I'll be thrilled!
Alcohol is no problem anymore. I am completely in control of myself and don't even think about it nearly as often as I used to. There are times when I see others drinking and want a drink just because others are having one. It's like when you walk into a restaurant and you're not really hungry, but you see a server walking out with a plate of food that looks and smells so good that you're all of a sudden starving and want exactly that plate of food. Here's the thing, though... I still really enjoy the taste of alcohol. I love beer and scotch and rum. I have a pretty good pallet for it. That's why I still allow myself the occasional drink.
I don't want to deprive myself of life's pleasures. In the past that's why my diet/workout plans have failed. I wasn't able to enjoy myself. Last night I had nacho's for dinner. But when I felt full, I stopped eating. That never used to happen. I even tweeted that my full-o-meter just started working again. I think for the first time in about 10 years or more. I now know what it feels like to feel full. It's really a wonderful feeling to know that I'm changing myself for the better.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Day 29
Monday. Back to work. Luckily, I had something to look forward to after work was over today... ULTIMATE FRISBEE! Our team won tonight. Our third game and first win of the season. Awesome job! My calf held up enough, but I would have been able to play better if I wasn't concerned about it. I think cycling and lighter workouts will be the theme this week. Maybe some yoga thrown in there.
Most of my day was pretty boring, I guess, since I spent it working in the office. Here's where it gets interesting, though. After our games, the team usually goes out to a brew pub for food and drinks. The first week I was still trying really hard not to drink and it was more difficult to turn down the delicious beers. Now, two weeks later, it wasn't so bad. Of course I had that initial feeling of, "I want a beer." Mostly due to the fact that I saw so many delicious looking beers being had by my friends and other bar patrons. I had already made the decision not to drink before walking into the bar, though. I split some nacho's with my wife and two other teammates for dinner, but I started off with a wedge salad, dressing on the side. Mostly, I ate a quarter head of lettuce. It's surprising how filling lettuce can be. I didn't need to eat too many of the nacho's, luckily my compatriots ate quickly which made it easier for me to not have as much.
I love being part of a social gathering. I get energy off of being with others and talking. I love to make others laugh. What I realized tonight is that I don't need the social lubricant of alcohol to make me funny. Especially if the other people are drinking! But more importantly, I'm becoming more and more comfortable with myself every day which gives me the drive to continue. I love who I am and who I am becoming, and that's the most important thing I'm learning throughout this whole process.
Most of my day was pretty boring, I guess, since I spent it working in the office. Here's where it gets interesting, though. After our games, the team usually goes out to a brew pub for food and drinks. The first week I was still trying really hard not to drink and it was more difficult to turn down the delicious beers. Now, two weeks later, it wasn't so bad. Of course I had that initial feeling of, "I want a beer." Mostly due to the fact that I saw so many delicious looking beers being had by my friends and other bar patrons. I had already made the decision not to drink before walking into the bar, though. I split some nacho's with my wife and two other teammates for dinner, but I started off with a wedge salad, dressing on the side. Mostly, I ate a quarter head of lettuce. It's surprising how filling lettuce can be. I didn't need to eat too many of the nacho's, luckily my compatriots ate quickly which made it easier for me to not have as much.
I love being part of a social gathering. I get energy off of being with others and talking. I love to make others laugh. What I realized tonight is that I don't need the social lubricant of alcohol to make me funny. Especially if the other people are drinking! But more importantly, I'm becoming more and more comfortable with myself every day which gives me the drive to continue. I love who I am and who I am becoming, and that's the most important thing I'm learning throughout this whole process.
Start of Week 5
This is going to be a pretty great week for me. Lots of wonderful things to come up, and a great landmark for these 90 days. Tuesday will be day 30, that's 1/3 of the way through this journey and will provide a great time to evaluate how I'm doing on my goals. Sunday will mark two pretty great things. My first group ride of the season (a 64 miler through the hills of Kimberton on the Iron Tour), and my first wedding anniversary!
My wife is incredibly supportive of my passion for cycling. She understands that participating in the Iron Tour is important to me because it's one of the greatest rides of the season and I get to do it with her, my brother, and one of my other best friends. I'm hoping that after this past weekend, I will be ok to do the 64 since I struggled with the 60 flat on Saturday. Although, that 60 flat immediately followed a 40 miler the day before.
I'm really enjoying my new life. I'm finding that I scrutinize other people that I see in public making poor decisions and then catch myself and say, "That used to be me!" For instance, I saw an incredibly overweight person walking around with a Super Gulp full of what I assumed was some alcoholic beverage and a giant cheese steak sweating while they walked up "The Wall" at the Manayunk Bike Race yesterday. I also see people who say they're trying to lose weight and I observe them eating salads for lunch and while doing so they tell me their dinner plans to eat an entire pizza. Why? Why do we do this to ourselves? It's just not worth it.
I am the first to admit that I have an addictive personality. Fortunately, I am not only easily drawn to the things that are bad for me. I love how I feel when I'm hydrated. I love feeling in balance during Yoga videos. I love feeling powerful on my bike. I love being able to run further and further distances. I love feeling like an athlete. I love knowing that I can accomplish anything I want to rather than hoping I can.
As always, I get my wife to take a picture of me for tracking and evaluating my body. Here are those pictures...
My wife is incredibly supportive of my passion for cycling. She understands that participating in the Iron Tour is important to me because it's one of the greatest rides of the season and I get to do it with her, my brother, and one of my other best friends. I'm hoping that after this past weekend, I will be ok to do the 64 since I struggled with the 60 flat on Saturday. Although, that 60 flat immediately followed a 40 miler the day before.
I'm really enjoying my new life. I'm finding that I scrutinize other people that I see in public making poor decisions and then catch myself and say, "That used to be me!" For instance, I saw an incredibly overweight person walking around with a Super Gulp full of what I assumed was some alcoholic beverage and a giant cheese steak sweating while they walked up "The Wall" at the Manayunk Bike Race yesterday. I also see people who say they're trying to lose weight and I observe them eating salads for lunch and while doing so they tell me their dinner plans to eat an entire pizza. Why? Why do we do this to ourselves? It's just not worth it.
I am the first to admit that I have an addictive personality. Fortunately, I am not only easily drawn to the things that are bad for me. I love how I feel when I'm hydrated. I love feeling in balance during Yoga videos. I love feeling powerful on my bike. I love being able to run further and further distances. I love feeling like an athlete. I love knowing that I can accomplish anything I want to rather than hoping I can.
As always, I get my wife to take a picture of me for tracking and evaluating my body. Here are those pictures...
This isn't too much of a change from my picture last week, although I got rid of my sunburn and the table changed into a hamper. I do notice the differences still from a month ago when I took my first set of pictures. I'll post some more side-by-sides when I lose my first 10 pounds. This morning I weighed in at 265.5 pounds. I'm happy with that. I'm not back to being on track, but I'm only a half pound away from it and I'm doing things the right way. I hope that after the ride next Sunday, I'll be in back on track for my Monday weigh in!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Day 28: My first bike race.
This morning I woke up really early and went down to catch a train into Manayunk, a section of Philadelphia. I was meeting my brother there to watch the 27th Annual Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. I got off the train before my brother was done getting ready, so I walked up "The Wall."
"The Wall" is a hill in Manayunk with a 17% incline and lasts for about half a mile. Basically, it feels like you're going straight up. I've never braved it on my bike. Until today, I had never even seen it. I'll tell you what, though, having seen it, I don't know if I care to ever make the attempt. Not until my weight gets down, anyway.
The bike race itself goes up "The Wall" 10 times. It's a circuit race that goes for 156 miles. It also co-occurs with a woman's race called the "Liberty Classic." The men started ten minutes before the women and we watched as they all went up "The Wall." All 10 times. For the first 6-7 laps, we stood at the top and watched the riders come up. After the second or third lap, we clocked a break away for the men at over eight and a half minutes! INSANE! The break away group would have caught the woman's group had they not only gone 5 laps. By the time the pelaton passed us for the last time, we had traveled down to the bottom of the hill to watch them fly down Main Street and turn up towards "The Wall."
I really enjoyed watching this race. The best part was learning something about myself. I'm much more able to control myself than I used to be. The Manayunk Bike Race is a haven for young men and women to start drinking at 7:00am and be drunk for the rest of the day. I had zero adult beverages. Zero. I also controlled my eating really well. We didn't have much of an option for lunch. My brother and I each ate half a cheese steak and a bottle of water. I also had a Clif bar for a mid-morning snack. I had my breakfast at around 7:00am and my snack at around 10:30 or so. Lunch was at maybe 1:00, I didn't notice the time. But until about 4:00, I didn't have any other food. By the time we got lunch, I knew I was hungry, but that small amount of food (albeit high in calories) was satiating enough to hold out until 4:00 when I had a Lara Bar.
Because of my early wake up call and being out all day, I haven't worked out yet and I'm a little low on water. I'm going to grab a quick workout on Exercise TV and then start cooking dinner so my beautiful wife has something to eat when she gets home!
Tomorrow night is our Ultimate Frisbee League game. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm sure my calf will be put to the test. Hopefully it holds up!
"The Wall" is a hill in Manayunk with a 17% incline and lasts for about half a mile. Basically, it feels like you're going straight up. I've never braved it on my bike. Until today, I had never even seen it. I'll tell you what, though, having seen it, I don't know if I care to ever make the attempt. Not until my weight gets down, anyway.
The bike race itself goes up "The Wall" 10 times. It's a circuit race that goes for 156 miles. It also co-occurs with a woman's race called the "Liberty Classic." The men started ten minutes before the women and we watched as they all went up "The Wall." All 10 times. For the first 6-7 laps, we stood at the top and watched the riders come up. After the second or third lap, we clocked a break away for the men at over eight and a half minutes! INSANE! The break away group would have caught the woman's group had they not only gone 5 laps. By the time the pelaton passed us for the last time, we had traveled down to the bottom of the hill to watch them fly down Main Street and turn up towards "The Wall."
I really enjoyed watching this race. The best part was learning something about myself. I'm much more able to control myself than I used to be. The Manayunk Bike Race is a haven for young men and women to start drinking at 7:00am and be drunk for the rest of the day. I had zero adult beverages. Zero. I also controlled my eating really well. We didn't have much of an option for lunch. My brother and I each ate half a cheese steak and a bottle of water. I also had a Clif bar for a mid-morning snack. I had my breakfast at around 7:00am and my snack at around 10:30 or so. Lunch was at maybe 1:00, I didn't notice the time. But until about 4:00, I didn't have any other food. By the time we got lunch, I knew I was hungry, but that small amount of food (albeit high in calories) was satiating enough to hold out until 4:00 when I had a Lara Bar.
Because of my early wake up call and being out all day, I haven't worked out yet and I'm a little low on water. I'm going to grab a quick workout on Exercise TV and then start cooking dinner so my beautiful wife has something to eat when she gets home!
Tomorrow night is our Ultimate Frisbee League game. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm sure my calf will be put to the test. Hopefully it holds up!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Day 27: Coke is made of magic and smiles
That's right folks. Coke IS made of magic and smiles. With my new healthy lifestyle, I can't say I would normally advocate for drinking a coke, but in this case I will. Here's why.
After I went to see my dad today, I decided I was going for the two day century (100 miles in two days). Since I did 40 miles with my wife yesterday, I wanted to ride 60 today. Unfortunately, my wife was working and my brother was helping his girlfriend move, so I went solo. I got on the trail at around noon. I rode from one end of the trail to the other, which is almost exactly 27 miles.
On my way down, I stopped at mile 17 for a breather because I was bonking big time. For those of you who don't know what the word "bonk" means, it basically means I was getting too tired to continue. I waited for a minute and had some Gatorade, then figured, if I go to the end, I have to get myself back somehow. And I also knew that if I went another 7 miles or so, I would run into a gas station that I usually stop at to get some more water and A COKE. Before I got to the end of the trail, I actually started a conversation with a guy who was wearing a City to Shore VIP Jersey. He told me that one of the roads I was planning on taking was going to be a bad way because there was a big festival or something going on, so I went to the other side of the river at this guys recommendation. It was AWESOME because the road was shut down for bikes and runners so we just went down the middle of the road and talked.
When I turned around, the other guy left me. I stopped at my gas station for water and a coke. At that point, I was really dying. I thought that I was going to be in big big trouble pretty soon. I had a few sips of Coke and then left it in my jersey pocket to drink later. By the time I got on my bike again, I was feeling better. I made it another 10 miles or so and was feeling fine as far as my bonk went, but my feet were starting to fall asleep. I stopped for a few minutes to let them breath, finished my coke, and then got back to work. I met up with another guy who was wearing a Pennsylvania Hospital jersey. We ended up riding together for the rest of the time.
We were drafting off of one another pretty well. Another guy wearing a Mellow Johnny's jersey grabbed onto our wheels and followed for a while. As a side note, Mellow Johnny's is the name of the bike shop that Lance Armstrong owns. This guy had a lot to live up to for wearing that jersey. He pulled off at a park and then passed us a few minutes later. I decided I was going to jump and see if I could catch him. I was doing about 25mph to catch him, then held on at about 23-24mph until a cross wind hit me and I lost him. My legs were about to explode. When I got back to my car, I was at 54 miles. CRAP! I had to turn it around and go back an extra 3 miles so that when I turned around, I could total 60. When I got back to the parking lot, I was still under 60! DAMNIT! I did circles around the parking lot until my odometer hit 60, completing my two day century.
Ride stats:
Time: 3hours, 37 minutes
Distance: 60.06 miles
Avg Speed: 16.6mph
Max Speed: 36mph
So now I'm home, trying to chug water to rehydrate, and I'm going to relax the rest of the night. When I got home I checked my weight to see what I'd lost on the ride. 4 pounds. And I drank 4 full 20oz bottles on my ride, plus a 12oz coke, and about 10oz more of water. Wowzers. Tomorrow... Manayunk Bike Race!
After I went to see my dad today, I decided I was going for the two day century (100 miles in two days). Since I did 40 miles with my wife yesterday, I wanted to ride 60 today. Unfortunately, my wife was working and my brother was helping his girlfriend move, so I went solo. I got on the trail at around noon. I rode from one end of the trail to the other, which is almost exactly 27 miles.
On my way down, I stopped at mile 17 for a breather because I was bonking big time. For those of you who don't know what the word "bonk" means, it basically means I was getting too tired to continue. I waited for a minute and had some Gatorade, then figured, if I go to the end, I have to get myself back somehow. And I also knew that if I went another 7 miles or so, I would run into a gas station that I usually stop at to get some more water and A COKE. Before I got to the end of the trail, I actually started a conversation with a guy who was wearing a City to Shore VIP Jersey. He told me that one of the roads I was planning on taking was going to be a bad way because there was a big festival or something going on, so I went to the other side of the river at this guys recommendation. It was AWESOME because the road was shut down for bikes and runners so we just went down the middle of the road and talked.
When I turned around, the other guy left me. I stopped at my gas station for water and a coke. At that point, I was really dying. I thought that I was going to be in big big trouble pretty soon. I had a few sips of Coke and then left it in my jersey pocket to drink later. By the time I got on my bike again, I was feeling better. I made it another 10 miles or so and was feeling fine as far as my bonk went, but my feet were starting to fall asleep. I stopped for a few minutes to let them breath, finished my coke, and then got back to work. I met up with another guy who was wearing a Pennsylvania Hospital jersey. We ended up riding together for the rest of the time.
We were drafting off of one another pretty well. Another guy wearing a Mellow Johnny's jersey grabbed onto our wheels and followed for a while. As a side note, Mellow Johnny's is the name of the bike shop that Lance Armstrong owns. This guy had a lot to live up to for wearing that jersey. He pulled off at a park and then passed us a few minutes later. I decided I was going to jump and see if I could catch him. I was doing about 25mph to catch him, then held on at about 23-24mph until a cross wind hit me and I lost him. My legs were about to explode. When I got back to my car, I was at 54 miles. CRAP! I had to turn it around and go back an extra 3 miles so that when I turned around, I could total 60. When I got back to the parking lot, I was still under 60! DAMNIT! I did circles around the parking lot until my odometer hit 60, completing my two day century.
Ride stats:
Time: 3hours, 37 minutes
Distance: 60.06 miles
Avg Speed: 16.6mph
Max Speed: 36mph
So now I'm home, trying to chug water to rehydrate, and I'm going to relax the rest of the night. When I got home I checked my weight to see what I'd lost on the ride. 4 pounds. And I drank 4 full 20oz bottles on my ride, plus a 12oz coke, and about 10oz more of water. Wowzers. Tomorrow... Manayunk Bike Race!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Day 26
I gotta make this another short post. It's almost 11pm here and I've gotta get some sleep tonight!
This morning my wife and I went out for a bike ride. We went farther than I thought we would, which was great, because it sets me up for a great day tomorrow. The ride was windy, but relatively uneventful. I had it easy, though. My wife likes to ride up front. I think she likes it because she can see the road better and because I ride faster than she does a lot of the time and she doesn't like to get dropped. We spent most of the ride on some busy roads and ended up crossing a major highway at least twice.
When we got home I was starving. I showered quickly and grabbed some leftover Chinese food. I was impressed that there was even any left 3 days after we had ordered it. Normally that's enough for dinner and maybe a small lunch. I also normally get fried rice, this time I didn't. I am definitely noticing better decision making. Except maybe when I'm not at home...
Tonight we went to my mom's house for dinner. My brother and his girlfriend met us there. I wasn't planning on drinking at all, but I caved in for one. I don't plan on drinking for the rest of the weekend or next week either. I'm waiting for our bike ride on June 12th. My step dad really likes my margarita's, so when I visit, he asks me to make them. He went out to get all of the ingredients when we got there. My wife, of course, loves my margarita's as well, and so does the rest of the family. So when I asked if anyone else wanted one, EVERYBODY said yes, so I decided I'd have one. And I did, plus a little sip. But I did give myself the smallest glass! For dinner we had steak and salmon with rice, veggies, and salad. Not too unhealthy, but I probably had more than I needed, as usual. I also ate more dessert than I should have... gelato and cupcakes. I had about a third of a cupcake and a few scoops of gelato. It was delicious, not sure it's worth it though.
So I said that my ride this morning sets me up for a great ride tomorrow. Here's why. Although I'm training for a ride in the hills, I really just want to get some saddle time in. Since I did 40 miles this morning, I'm planning on 60 flat miles tomorrow at a fast pace to make it a two day century. I'll be by myself, but I'm hoping to get a draft off of some people on the trail I'll be riding on. I'll head over to the trail after I go visit with my dad for a little bit in the morning. He just had some pretty serious ankle surgery, so I gotta go make sure he's ok! Once he's healthy again, maybe I'll try to get him out on a bike with me.
Ride stats for today:
Time: 2 hours 43 minutes
Distance: 40.29 miles
Avg Speed: 14.8mph
Max Speed: 37.9mph
This morning my wife and I went out for a bike ride. We went farther than I thought we would, which was great, because it sets me up for a great day tomorrow. The ride was windy, but relatively uneventful. I had it easy, though. My wife likes to ride up front. I think she likes it because she can see the road better and because I ride faster than she does a lot of the time and she doesn't like to get dropped. We spent most of the ride on some busy roads and ended up crossing a major highway at least twice.
When we got home I was starving. I showered quickly and grabbed some leftover Chinese food. I was impressed that there was even any left 3 days after we had ordered it. Normally that's enough for dinner and maybe a small lunch. I also normally get fried rice, this time I didn't. I am definitely noticing better decision making. Except maybe when I'm not at home...
Tonight we went to my mom's house for dinner. My brother and his girlfriend met us there. I wasn't planning on drinking at all, but I caved in for one. I don't plan on drinking for the rest of the weekend or next week either. I'm waiting for our bike ride on June 12th. My step dad really likes my margarita's, so when I visit, he asks me to make them. He went out to get all of the ingredients when we got there. My wife, of course, loves my margarita's as well, and so does the rest of the family. So when I asked if anyone else wanted one, EVERYBODY said yes, so I decided I'd have one. And I did, plus a little sip. But I did give myself the smallest glass! For dinner we had steak and salmon with rice, veggies, and salad. Not too unhealthy, but I probably had more than I needed, as usual. I also ate more dessert than I should have... gelato and cupcakes. I had about a third of a cupcake and a few scoops of gelato. It was delicious, not sure it's worth it though.
So I said that my ride this morning sets me up for a great ride tomorrow. Here's why. Although I'm training for a ride in the hills, I really just want to get some saddle time in. Since I did 40 miles this morning, I'm planning on 60 flat miles tomorrow at a fast pace to make it a two day century. I'll be by myself, but I'm hoping to get a draft off of some people on the trail I'll be riding on. I'll head over to the trail after I go visit with my dad for a little bit in the morning. He just had some pretty serious ankle surgery, so I gotta go make sure he's ok! Once he's healthy again, maybe I'll try to get him out on a bike with me.
Ride stats for today:
Time: 2 hours 43 minutes
Distance: 40.29 miles
Avg Speed: 14.8mph
Max Speed: 37.9mph
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Day 25: I'm tired...
Today was a long stressful work day. I worked 12 hours. I'm exhausted. I tend to over analyze things, so here is my analysis on why I am so tired today... I had a long hard day. I have gotten up fairly early for the last 3 mornings and have gone to bed relatively late for the last 3 nights. Those are the logical thoughts. The other thought is that I'm resting my calf too much and I'm getting tired because I'm not working out very hard, and my body is craving it. I plan to remedy that this weekend.
Tomorrow I want to get a nice ride in, at least 30 miles. Saturday, I'm hoping for a big ride. Maybe a 40 or 50 miler. I definitely want some hills. This is new for me. I normally avoid the hills, but I'm realizing how much I enjoy the suffering I experience on the bike. At least when it's over. I normally feel great after a long ride, exhausted, but great. My calf is still not 100%, but I have a bike ride next weekend that I plan on finishing.
We have dinner plans for tomorrow night, so I want to get my ride in early. I might do a few hours for work and then get another workout in depending on how hard my ride was. Anyway, off to relax for a little before bed.
Sorry my post was so short, but like I said. I'm tired.
Tomorrow I want to get a nice ride in, at least 30 miles. Saturday, I'm hoping for a big ride. Maybe a 40 or 50 miler. I definitely want some hills. This is new for me. I normally avoid the hills, but I'm realizing how much I enjoy the suffering I experience on the bike. At least when it's over. I normally feel great after a long ride, exhausted, but great. My calf is still not 100%, but I have a bike ride next weekend that I plan on finishing.
We have dinner plans for tomorrow night, so I want to get my ride in early. I might do a few hours for work and then get another workout in depending on how hard my ride was. Anyway, off to relax for a little before bed.
Sorry my post was so short, but like I said. I'm tired.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Day 24: Doctor?
Today was my wife's graduation from her Doctoral program. She has a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, at least she will when she's completed her last affiliation in August. But when she walked across the stage at graduation, they called her Doctor. Doctor... that has a nice ring to it. I'm incredibly proud of my wife! She also looked super smart in her cap and gown.
We woke up really early this morning to get down to the city for graduation. I spent the first hour or so by myself while she went to rehearsal. The only place I could find that was out of the heat and humidity was a McDonald's. I didn't think I could go in there without buying something, so I went in and got a fruit and yogurt parfait (not bad) and a glass of OJ. I'm proud of my decision making. Especially since I wanted to get a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel. I sat and read my book for an hour until my in-laws came and met me. I'm currently reading "It's All About The Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels" by Robert Penn. I figured I'd stay with the athletic books after finishing "Born to Run."
My in-laws and I left to go find some friends. One of my wife's good friend's husband was there with his in-laws, so we all sat together at graduation. Our wives program was the second to walk. Which put them at number 6 and 16 respectively. Out of 640 students. Needless to say, we loss interest quickly. When graduation ended we took pictures and then went for a walk through the city to grab some lunch.
My in-laws chose a nice little Italian place. Lunch was at 2:00 or so and until then all I'd eaten was a bowl of cereal and a clif bar. I had grilled sausage with grilled veggies and broccoli rabe. No starches. Delicious, and mostly nutritious. My in-laws told us they would drive us back to the train station so we didn't have to walk in the heat. It was much appreciated. I'm all about being outside and I normally don't mind walking through the city, but I hate being hot and sweaty, at least when I'm dressed up.
We came home and I fell asleep. For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm not a napper. I was exhausted, though, from the past few days of waking up early and going to bed late. My wife got me up at 6:00 so I could work out before dinner. I ended up doing a 20 minute Yoga lesson. Namaste. It was relatively difficult, but probably not long enough. Just what I needed for today, though. I was too tired for a bike ride.
My wife wanted Chinese for dinner, so we ordered that. I tried to stay away from the fried foods, but I couldn't say no... it's her graduation dinner! We enjoyed the dinner and are now watching a movie together. Tomorrow I'll be back on track. I've got a long day of work and hopefully a deliciously nutritious dinner waiting for me when I get home!
We woke up really early this morning to get down to the city for graduation. I spent the first hour or so by myself while she went to rehearsal. The only place I could find that was out of the heat and humidity was a McDonald's. I didn't think I could go in there without buying something, so I went in and got a fruit and yogurt parfait (not bad) and a glass of OJ. I'm proud of my decision making. Especially since I wanted to get a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel. I sat and read my book for an hour until my in-laws came and met me. I'm currently reading "It's All About The Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels" by Robert Penn. I figured I'd stay with the athletic books after finishing "Born to Run."
My in-laws and I left to go find some friends. One of my wife's good friend's husband was there with his in-laws, so we all sat together at graduation. Our wives program was the second to walk. Which put them at number 6 and 16 respectively. Out of 640 students. Needless to say, we loss interest quickly. When graduation ended we took pictures and then went for a walk through the city to grab some lunch.
My in-laws chose a nice little Italian place. Lunch was at 2:00 or so and until then all I'd eaten was a bowl of cereal and a clif bar. I had grilled sausage with grilled veggies and broccoli rabe. No starches. Delicious, and mostly nutritious. My in-laws told us they would drive us back to the train station so we didn't have to walk in the heat. It was much appreciated. I'm all about being outside and I normally don't mind walking through the city, but I hate being hot and sweaty, at least when I'm dressed up.
We came home and I fell asleep. For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm not a napper. I was exhausted, though, from the past few days of waking up early and going to bed late. My wife got me up at 6:00 so I could work out before dinner. I ended up doing a 20 minute Yoga lesson. Namaste. It was relatively difficult, but probably not long enough. Just what I needed for today, though. I was too tired for a bike ride.
My wife wanted Chinese for dinner, so we ordered that. I tried to stay away from the fried foods, but I couldn't say no... it's her graduation dinner! We enjoyed the dinner and are now watching a movie together. Tomorrow I'll be back on track. I've got a long day of work and hopefully a deliciously nutritious dinner waiting for me when I get home!
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