Relaunch - 56 Day Challenge

It’s really time for me to get this going again. I’ve strayed too far. I am pleased to say I didn’t gain much weight, though. I like to think that I didn’t gain because I’ve learned how to eat properly and exercise enough to maintain my current weight. The problem? I’m still at least 30lbs overweight.

My motivation for weight loss has changed. When I started this blog, I wanted to lose weight so that I could play Ultimate Frisbee without getting so winded. I wanted to lose weight because I was ashamed of the way I looked. I also really didn’t want to buy yet another size larger of all my clothes.

This time is different. In fact, ironically, the motivation stems from a very similar place as the original post for my blog. A magazine. This time the magazine is Running Times. The article is called “The Skinny: The simple/complex issue of weight and running” by Rachel Toor.

It isn’t another “how you lose 20 pounds in 3 days” kind of article. It’s more about how weight effects your running speed and efficiency. Rachel begins and ends the article talking about Seabiscuit. Yes, the horse. The owner of Seabiscuit had to decide which jockey to use when racing him and when it came down to it, there was a 3 pound difference. This 3 pound difference of the jockey meant a world of difference. But how? Race horses weigh a ton! Literally! If 3 pounds on a 1 ton animal makes a difference, then what does 3 pounds do to me?

I’m also reading a book called “Racing Weight” by Matt Fitzgerald. It’s a similar topic, but much more detail and instruction. Matt talks about the optimal height, weight, and body shape of athletes in different endurance sports based on averages of the elite performers. I’m only a little bit into the book, but I’m very interested.

The theme runs through both articles that a decrease in weight is equal to an increase in performance. Sorry for the pun. I am finding that I enjoy this sport of running. In fact, I’m already eyeballing my second marathon. I’m not registering for it until I get over how much I hate running a marathon when I’m done with Marine Corps in October. I hear it’s inevitable, so I’ll just accept it and look past it.

For me, I feel a need to lose more weight. I don’t care about what I look like nearly as much as I used to. I’m not fit looking, but I can outrun most of my friends and family by far. My cardiovascular system has improved dramatically. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I want to lose weight to become better. I want to be faster and more efficient. I want to be logging 50 effortless miles a week without being so cared that I’m killing my joints. I want to be able to run 10 miles and have it not feel so much like an event (thanks for the wording, babe!).

Up until this point, the farthest I have ever run is 13.1 miles. I’ve got training runs planned for the rest of the summer that will get me far beyond that. I’ll be running 20 miles three times before my 26.2. Just about every week I will go one mile farther than I had ever done before.

For the next 8 weeks (56 Days), I will be working towards accomplishing a few goals. I’ll tell you them in a minute. Why 8 weeks and 90 days? In exactly 8 weeks, Sunday the 26^th of August, I will run my second official Half Marathon in Wildwood, New Jersey. This will be the last day of the challenge. The next day I turn 27. I can’t see a better end date.

My first goal is to lose 1.5 pounds per week for 8 weeks which means 12 pounds. The rest of my goals will support this goal.

According to my calorie needs calculator, I need to eat between 1840 and 2433 calories per day. I will do this 44 out of 56 days (that’s 12 high calorie days). Exceptions will be made for days where I burn more than 1500 calories in a workout (about 9 mile runs or more). For those days, I will be allowed to eat 1/3 of calories burned back. For instance. If I burn 1500 calories, I can have 500 extra calories that day, OR the day before. Not both. I make this stipulation because I’ll need the calories in at dinner if I have a long run the next day, or calories at lunch if I have a long run at night.

I will run a minimum of 3 days per week for 7 out of the 8 weeks. I will also ride my road bike at least 1 day per week for 7 out of 8 weeks.

My fourth goal is to complete 50 consecutive pushups with good form (nose to the ground).

I slept in late this morning so I missed my wife for pictures. I'll try to remember tomorrow morning. 232.5 this morning.