My Road To The Ironman

First workout... in a while.

2010-09-22T20:24:00.001-07:00

So today was the first opportunity to get to the gym. Today was a pretty simple day. I did a total of about 40 minutes of Cardio (Treadmill and Bike) then I did a light back and bicep workout. Nothing fancy, just a reminder to my muscles about what working out feels like again. Other than that, I went grocery shopping. I find grocery shopping after a workout is the best way to go. Yes you may be all sweaty and gross. But when your walking down the isles and your legs are tired and your muscles hurt, that last thing you throw in your shopping cart is junk.

I stocked up on chicken, tilapia, red potatoes, banana's, yogurt, eggs (with omega-3) and non-fat milk. I keep my eating fairly simple.

Breakfast: Eggs, whole wheat toast, milk. Or I will have Oatmeal.

Lunch: Turkey or Ham and cheese sandwich, some fruit and water.

Snacks: Fruit, power bar, baby carrots, Tillamook sharp.

Dinner: Usually Fish or Chicken, brown rice or noodles or potatoes, and Water

Alternatives: I love ground Turkey. I buy a lot of it. It is great for BBQ'ing burgers, or browning and adding to spaghetti. I also buy the Whole Wheat Sandwich thins instead of buns. They also make turkey brats, which I have talked about before. OktoberFest coming up is a great time to sub those in for a meal.

Anyways, Thats about how my day went. Boring but fairly productive. I am excited about starting this adventure again. I am just easing my way back in. Going "gung ho" if you will doesn't work for me.

Day 1.

2010-09-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ok. I am going to post my measurements tomorrow. I weighed in the morning at 286.6 lbs. So I haven't gained everything back but I have gained about 13 lbs in the last 6 months. The time I scheduled to work out got interrupted by an opportunity to get some Continuing Education, which I need for work. So I start working out tomorrow. I am excited, and nervous. I felt comfortable at my last gym. I knew where all the equipment was, weights to use, what workouts to do. So it will be an interesting experience. Anyways, I'm going to contact a Personal Trainer friend of mine and see if he can figure a workout idea for me. If you are from medford I highly recommend him. Pat Frey, TopFit personal training. He does treat work, including TrailFit, those who love being in the country running.

It starts again...

2010-09-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hey all. No one reads this anymore because it has been too long. I let "life" get in the way. It is an excuse. My trainer likes to say that by NOT working out you are letting life get in the way... Because you will die sooner than you should. I know the closest thing to the fountain of youth is fitness and nutrition. Pat and Sensai Hisamoto are two great examples. Anyways. Tomorrow morning I will post my new starting weight ( which should be close to when I first started this journey) measurements and possibly estimated body fat %. I got a gym membership and will be going for the first time tomorrow. It is a cool gym. Its big but not commercial, has that small gym feel. It will be interesting to try and figure out what workouts to do, not really knowing the gym. Anyways. I will see you tomorrow!

Yesterday

2010-03-20T18:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a good day. Rob and I got off work and hiked Lower Table Rock. I beat my time up but 3 minutes. We walked the plateau and then hiked down in the dark. It was a good hike. I feel good today, but my legs are definitely tired. Steph and I will be hiking it again tomorrow. I'm running more often now, trying to get ready for the run. I will be running twice a day as far as I can. I think there is three weeks until the pear run. Eating has been good. I feel strong overall. I feel like my eating has been pretty good, the workouts just need work. Anyways, Steph and I are going grocery shopping. Don't forget, healthy eating starts with what you buy at the grocery store!!!

Sorry...

2010-03-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

So I am sorry that my blog has been pretty pathetic. I have been doing a lot of "traveling" lately for reasons I can't explain... yet... But on to other news. I went for a run today... went pretty well. My legs and feet got sore pretty quickly. Now that it is later today I am going to run a lot more often. Other than that I told you I would blog whether I worked out or not. So know this, I haven't been to the gym in a couple of weeks, I have tried to keep my eating under control, and have continued to lose weight slowly. Right now I am about 272... I need to pick up the pace. the 10 mile is more than likely out since I only have about 4 weeks to train. So my hope is to do the 5k at least. I am disappointed in myself. Life has been happening and it is really hard to keep up right now. It frustrates me that i have given up a month basically of training. So pray that I have the strength to do better every day. Cause I am tired... all the time.

Goodnight.

Locking it down.

2010-03-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

That is what my goal is. I ate well today. Chicken and Brown rice has become a favorite of mine, especially now that I have a rice cooker. Even I can't screw that up! Workouts are back in the agenda, that's not going to change. I have about 6-7 weeks until the pear so I am going to focus on road running as much and as long as I can. I was very active today which was good. I am leaving first thing in the morning for Portland. My goal is to learn some of the area I will be in by running the streets. Wish me luck. Thanks for the support. I appreciate it in all forms! Even the " what the hell do you think you are doing. Quit with the excuses and Lock it down!"

Night All.

Back at it...

2010-03-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

So, as promised, I have started working out again. Tonight was a good night. I made it 20 miles ( according to the machine) on the bike in under an hour. After that, I did some upper body lifting to strengthen and build up the endurance of my swimming muscles. Then a little 1/4 mile jog for a cool down. My legs felt great. My shins were starting to hurt a bit during my jog. They feel nice and rested though. I'm gonna try and get up early enough to swim in the morning...

My eating has been o.k. Steph and I need to go shopping pretty bad but we are waiting for pay day. We did cheat a bit tonight on the money department and got Subway for dinner. But its 5 dollar foot longs! How can you go wrong!

Anyways, I kept my end of the bargain today. Got my workout. Kicked my butt today. Literally my "A" hurts like heck... and to think, my goal is to sit on a bike for 5-7 times as long as I did today.

Goodnight all!

kinda on hold

2010-02-19T19:14:00.001-08:00

So I haven't been doing good the last couple of weeks. I have been traveling for 2 weeks now. I haven't done much in the way of working out. I have been trying to eat pretty good so that I don't gain a bunch of weight. I don't feel good though. I miss the sore muscles, I miss the gym and I miss the weight loss weekly. I am going to have to get a bit crazy when I get home. Anyways, haven't posted anything in a bit. I'm sure I'm gonna get hell for that and for this one... Have fun all.

Busy day...

2010-02-09T23:30:00.000-08:00

Today was a busy day. I have been trying to get things together for my road trip tomorrow. The person I had lined up to go with me backed out so now I get to drive 14 hours by myself. I just now got back from the grocery store because we had no food in our house at all. And now I am going to bed. so this would be day 3 without getting much of a workout in. I played with the dogs to at least get something resembling active movement but that's it. I'm off to bed. I HAVE to get up tomorrow to go to the gym and get a workout in. Please don't yell to bad!

Pretty useless

2010-02-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

No lie. Today was a pretty useless day. My three meals were spread out a bit too far. There wasn't any snacks between. I didn't get a workout in today. But there is hope. I haven't gained any weight, I am not as sore as I thought I would be after the TR hikes, and I haven't completely destroyed my eating. So not completely destructive. Anyways, I honestly don't have anything else going on today or anything else going on worth talking about. I'll be getting up in the morning to go to the gym. If I don't feel free to yell at me lots!

Victory...

2010-02-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

So I did it!!! I was able to hike both table rocks today back to back. I was also able to do both of them without stopping once to rest. On top of that, I had a PR... I made it up 4 minutes faster than last weekend, and 8 minutes off of the total time for Lower Table Rock. The last time I did Upper Table Rock, I almost died... It took me well over an hour. I didn't make it to the top and I kinda threw up a bit... So it was a victorious day in my opinion. On top of that I had a decent day with my eating. I only ate 3 times but I made it under my calorie count for the day.

I was told to amend my previous blogs for lack of accuracy. I'm not going to bother cause I don't wanna, but in the future I promise to make sure they are as accurate as possible... Fair enough Rob?

Will be interesting to see how sore I am tomorrow and the next few days... The goal is to keep working out throughout the soreness. I will be going to the gym, not tomorrow, but I will be. I am going to swim and use the elliptical. I am also going to be doing a lot more circuit training... Great for the cardio and endurance.

Anyways, I apologize for the lack in blogging. I will be better about that as well.

Word to your Mother!

Today was great till dinner...

2010-02-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

So today went pretty well. I caved to the wife's wishes of dinner. Pizza. My arch nemesis. Lets just say that I will be hitting the gym something fierce tomorrow. Which sucks, because I am still really really sore. But, with every action... You know the rest. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think I went too far over my daily calories, I was pretty low before dinner. Anyway, its bed time. I gotta get to the gym tomorrow.

Table Rock

2010-01-30T23:41:00.000-08:00

So Rob and I hiked lower table rock with Pat and Clista. It was a good hike. I was able to do it in 45 minutes which is pretty slow. Will be doing it again within the next couple of weekends to see if I can better my time. Definitely haven't impressed Pat yet with my performance... One of my goals since I value his athletic opinion and all. But other than that it was fairly uneventful.

I did get to say goodbye to the 280's, weighing in this morning at 278. So if this keeps up I should be at a pretty decent weight by Pear Blossom. Hopefully shedding this weight will make things easier on my shins and calves while running... Will be looking to revamp a few of the workouts I do to kick up the intensity a bit. I feel at this point my body can handle more punishment than I have been giving it. Today I thought my heart was going to thump out of my chest...

I think that is all I can do for right now... eat well... keep upping the intensity of my training and stay away from temptations and cravings... Like really really really wanting pizza and wings. I had to remind myself that pizza and wings got me over 300 pounds.

Longer road than I thought

2010-01-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the title as two meanings... Meaning 1: I mapped out a 2.5 mile run to do around my house. The result... a longer road than I thought. Meaning 2: I was unable to finish the 2.5 miles and in 3 months now I have to run 10...

Tonight showed me just how far I still have. My calves and shins were on fire. It was an odd feeling running on the road. I was uncomfortable in spots due to the narrow road and no side walk. I also noticed there were spots where the road I was running on was angled funny and my left foot was landing higher than my right... if that makes sense. I also decided to jog with music, which was a disaster because my crappy ear buds kept flying out of my ears. I was able to go 1.65 miles today, which isn't bad. I also went for a 1.75 mile walk after lunch. So not a terrible workout day. I am going to try and get up and do some swimming in the morning, my legs could use some low impact. I am also going to do some upper body lifting. This weekend I am tackling lower table rock with some friends.

Hope every ones day went well. I am off to bed. New favorite meal... Chicken or Fish with potatoes cooked in organic vegetable broth. About the closest thing I get to vegetables... It was 5 oz. of chicken and one potato. The vegetable broth was only 15 calories per serving... some Johnny's, Garlic and Italian seasoning and you are good to go!

Good night world!

Posting everyday kinda blows...

2010-01-27T21:11:00.000-08:00

But here I am blogging away... I had a pretty good workout this morning. I was planning a 2.5 mile run today but that didn't pan out. Ill have to do that tomorrow, unless something else comes up that I really am not a huge fan of... Oh, the google pedometer thing I was talking about, if you are interested here is the ling gmap-pedometer.com It is a great way to get a pretty accurate measurement of your runs...

Anyways, I am off to bed. Like I keep not doing until late!!

Oh a great way to get in some extra activity, if you can, eat your lunch at your desk while working, then go for a decent walk at a decent speed! I have been doing about 1.75 miles during lunch in about 30 minutes... Push it a bit harder if you want, but then you go back to work sweaty!

Good night

So...

2010-01-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

I don't have much today. Ate pretty well, but we really need to go grocery shopping. I didn't get to the gym this morning... Apparently, I was more tired than I thought from my trip. SO, I crashed hard. I will be there in the morning... I did get a really good walk in today with Rob during lunch. 1.7 miles, in 30 minutes... I "Google Pedometered" a route around my house that was 2.5 miles long. I am gonna be giving that a whirl too to see how well I do. Have 3 more months till the blossom which is 10 miles...

Gnite!

Results may vary...

2010-01-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

I will learn in the morning just how much work I ruined with my eating habits over the weekend. I actually think I did ok, but who knows. Steph and I have decided when we go places to eat we are going to split the food... We were at trivia and got a burger and fries, and split them down the middle. Should help a bit on those less than healthy outings. But yah, I am hiking table rock with Robert and Pat on Saturday, so I will be hitting the gym as hard as I can this week so that I don't suck on the hike. I know a week won't make too much difference, but I'm hoping by this summer I can run them without much trouble. If I am still in Medford then that is... Anyways, as always the gym comes early so goodnight!

Travelling...

2010-01-24T00:32:00.000-08:00

SO today wasn't so bad. It is definitely difficult trying to eat right during a road trip. I was able to do pretty good. The one thing I'm having trouble with is eating as often as I need to. I have at least eaten 3 times in a day.

I did go for a run this morning. Nothing impressive but I got a bit of activity in today!

Catch yah on the flip side!

Travelling Troubles...

2010-01-22T22:48:00.000-08:00

So I am traveling right now, trying to get a job. Eating is tough when you are on the road. My only advise, when all else fails show some portion control! I know it only goes so far, but it is something. I am going to go for a run in the morning since the hotel doesn't have a gym. Hopefully I don't get lost! Anyways, keeping the job prospecting on the down low as far as results so hopefully I can indulge everyone within the next week...

Be good and stay out of trouble!

Ending the sucky streak!

2010-01-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

So I ended the sucky streak. I tried to go to the gym last night. The plan was to nap for an hour then go to the gym... I ended up napping all night and waking up at 5 am. So the streak continued until this morning. I got out of bed, got ready, went to the gym and kicked my butt! I did a mile on the treadmill, then did some core work (mostly abs, and upper/lower back) then did a power mile on the elliptical. All in all not a bad workout. I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow.

My eating has been really good. Despite what the "biggest loser" said the other night.. I have been eating breakfast around 7, a snack at 10, lunch at 1, a snack at 4, and dinner at about 7. Combined calorie intake of no more than 2200 a day. I am still losing weight fairly regularly. I just another couple of pounds... I am down to 282 right now. The goal is to be out of the 280's by Monday!

Trying to make another goal right now. Be in bed by 930pm! Goodnight!

Im sucking...

2010-01-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

So today was another useless day. If it weren't for the fact that my eating was good I would have gained weight. I will be in the gym in 7 hours. So it is off to bed. I wish I had someone to work out with in the mornings...

Goodnight!

Excuses... BS!

2010-01-17T02:48:00.000-08:00

I fell into one of my old excuses today... "I'm too busy to eat out." I'm calling BS on myself. First I only ate twice today. Second I had a sausage, egg and cheese foot long from Subway (probably the least healthy breakfast sandwich I could have gotten) and then I had Carl's Jr. for dinner... "Because I was too busy to make food myself..." BS RALPH!!! K. Done beating myself up. Just remember. The old excuses will make you the same old fat person. I know better than that. So in the morning I will get back to my healthy new schedule... I will eat at least 5 times tomorrow. I will not go past my 2200 calorie per day limit. And I will continue to be active.

Other than that. I did a bit of bike shopping today. Even "entry level" bikes are like 600-800 bucks. That's without clip-less pedals, shoes, aero bars. I just want something to zoom around in for a while until I can afford a decent bike.

Its early. I'm going to bed. Just remember, there is always time to make something healthier than fast food. It just takes a bit of effort. I give myself a D+ for today. Which is being nice.

Will probably post pictures tomorrow... and I will measure tomorrow as well, or today I guess it is...

Shoulder...

2010-01-15T23:06:00.000-08:00

My shoulder held up pretty well to swimming. I did a few sprint laps as well as some longer durations today without stopping. I also did a bit of biking and running but not much.. Gotta start hitting the gym harder and longer. Might have to go to two-a-days.

Eating went pretty well today. Its amazing how hungry us fat people can get after eating a normal serving size. Anyways, tomorrow is a big day. Walking the streets of Ashland all day trying to get Corporate sponsors for the Relay event in May. If you want to start, or join a team let me know. If you want to become a Corporate sponsor contact me!

Goodnight!

Wagon..

2010-01-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

Some times the only thing you can do is just get back on. I have taken two days off in a row now from working out. My shoulder started hurting and I didn't go tonight. But I will not let this excuse affect my workouts. I need to work out. I need to get ready for the worst 17 hours of my life. I need to start doing a count down of days I have left. April, October 2010, Sometime, October 2011 Ironman. Those are the months of my goals. Anyways, lesson of the day. Sometimes you have to just get back on that wagon and keep plugging along. I found out today that the gym is 1.5 miles from my house. So hopefully by the first of February I will be jogging to and from the gym instead of driving.

On a positive note. My eating hasn't been a disaster. I at least should maintain my weight from the last few days. I just need to be losing.

On a side note. I have a couple of long shot job prospects coming up, positions I have applied for. So please pray that something pans out of them. I really want to be back on an ambulance. It is my true passion! In the mean time I get to mold young minds. I will be helping out a few times a month at the college with the EMT-Basic labs.

I will be in bed in 3 minutes! Goodnight!

Just another day...

2010-01-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

It truly was. Made it to the gym this morning. Was a slow start. Hard to get up when you go to bed as late as I did. So adding another goal to my list... Go to bed by 10 p.m. Now that I am going to have medical insurance, I am going to get a check up. I'd like to see how my cholesterol, bp, and other "fat person" health problems go away.

Also, a friend suggested that I post pictures to see my progress week to week. I am going to try and figure out how to do that... I just don't know if I want to all out and do the biggest loser shorts only let it all hang out or if I want to do tee shirt on... May do both and just post the fully clothed version on here. Any suggestions? Be nice!

Work out was OK. My legs are really sore. I think I'm gonna spend most of my workout in the pool tomorrow. Unless my shoulder acts up that is! Ugh. Note to self, start off easy. I just want to be an Ironman!!!

Ups and Downs...

2010-01-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

Well I had my Ups and Downs today. My eating went pretty well today. Dinner was great... had some potatoes that I cooked in a frying pan with some organic vegetable broth, johnny's seasoning, a little garlic and a little Italian seasoning. I made Tilapia on the George Foreman, which by the way was the best invention ever!

Workout on the other side... didn't happen... I woke up late this morning, I was very tired. Got home and had a bunch of stuff to do. Didn't make it to the gym today at all. My legs should be fantastic for tomorrow... they better be cause I'm kicking their butt tomorrow morning, so, off to bed so I can be well rested...

Forever...

2010-01-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

So today I was on the Elliptical for what seemed like forever!!! Just under an hour. Which, under the circumstances, is a far cry from what I am trying to accomplish. Eating was pretty good before. I was a little behind on my snacks, but other than that not a terrible day.

More Relay stuff tonight... yay... But back to the gym in the morning...

I honestly don't think I have anything else to give yah today... Didn't get a chance to go bike shopping this weekend... maybe next!

Sunday..

2010-01-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty good day. The closest thing I had to a workout today was about an hour of raking leafs... but at least I was out and moving. The one thing I was proud of was my eating today. I tend to over-indulge on the weekends. I did have a moment of weakness... I wanted pizza today, bad!!! But, I called a friend, one who is a NO-BS kinda guy. He helped me get through my craving. By basically telling me I'm an idiot for wanting to screw up everything I have worked for the last couple of weeks for.

I also weighed and re-measured myself. I weigh 287 right now and had about 3 inches come off of my gut! Glad I didn't have the pizza!

So pointers for sticking to it. Call someone and have them put you in your place! It helps. Sometimes we just need a reminder that we don't NEED the craving, we just WANT it. But I want my goal to become a reality, and so should you!

Thanks ROB!

All Aboard!

2010-01-09T23:24:00.000-08:00

So today was a pretty eventful day, once I got out of bed. I did make it to the gym this morning. I did some Leg strengthening exercises along with the bike and the treadmill. My shoulder still hurts pretty bad, but, I'm hoping to be back in the pool soon.

Eating was pretty good today, I had Subway for, well breakfast technically, because it was at like 2pm. Had a small snack. Then went to McCloud California and did a Dinner Train with the wife. I had some salmon and potatoes, did pretty good until the cheese cake came out... But I still think I was under on my calories for the day.

Also, I'm going bike shopping tomorrow. I will let you know if I find something that will be on the purchase list for the next couple of months. I am also going to re-measure myself to see if I lost any inches anywhere... The wife seems to think I look slimmer so I will throw that on here tomorrow.

Good Night!

Migraine...

2010-01-08T22:20:00.001-08:00

Well, I woke up the morning with a migraine... no workout, no work. Today was a boring day. I hate staying home sick... nothing to do. But lets back up a bit.

Yesterday was a good workout. I did 50 minutes of intervals on both the treadmill and elliptical. By the time I was done I was sweating bullets and wanting to puke my guts out! I call that a good workout! I also had my Relay for Life meeting, which went really well. We had all new teams come to the meeting so I had to adjust the agenda I had all planned out... But that is a good problem to have. I also got a renewed vigor when it comes to the Relay.

This weekend I am going to do some bike shopping... Not buying, cause I'm working on getting money, but shopping none the less.

Back to Friday...

I was at home all day with a migraine, and not much of an appetite, which meant not my usual eating patterns. I've been eating about 6 times a day, and drinking lots and lots of water! My muscles definitely needed the break. I am also going to apply a new standard for my workouts... If my body says I need a break, I'm going to take one. I don't need to worry about injuries this early in the game. One thing though... I missed going to the gym today. I feel good after a workout, and it really gets my day going well. I am also going to work on trying to mix up my workouts a bit. Keep it fresh. Another week or two and I'm gonna hit up the Spin class at OZ, 60 minutes on a bike 3 days a week should be beneficial!

Check back!

Pain...

2010-01-06T22:39:00.000-08:00

I'm in pain, and with way too much to do. My shoulder did not like the large number of reps I did the other day to it and my shoulder has been complaining about it all day (so have I!). But, I am pushing through the pain. It has been a long day. I went grocery shopping and now have a fridge restocked with healthy food. I also volunteer for the American Cancer Societies Relay for Life event in Ashland, OR. I have the busiest task for the relay so I had to spend some time doing that tonight. 0500 is gonna be here way too soon! Other than that I ate pretty well today. The big thing is remembering the snack mid morning and mid afternoon. I'm at work and usually up to something and before I know it its lunch time and I haven't eaten in 4-5 hours. Gotta keep that metabolism up!

Working out went pretty well today. My legs hurt. I managed to do 6 full laps in the pool with limited breaks, 30 minutes on the bike at a minimum of 50-60 watts, 10 minutes on the treadmill(legs hurt), and 15 minutes on the elliptical(easier on the legs).

Another helpful tip via igoogle: Substitute butter for applesauce when baking it will save you, on average, 90 calories!!!

I'm off to bed. Gym at 0500 in the morning.

Food for thought...

2010-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

SO today's workouts went pretty well. The pool is more difficult than I remember. I didn't need to hydrate for the rest of my workout because I consumed so much water... Granted my Kidneys have hurt all day from processing chlorine. Workout hard on the technique. It is amazing what a workout actual swimming is, not that stuff I do at the lake with friends. My arms were dead after the swim. After swimming I decided to change it up a bit and did some lifting, high reps, lower weights. So I did 100 Iso-lap pull downs and 100 reg. pull downs and 150 crunches. Once I was done with that I jumped on the elliptical for some intervals. 1 minute on 30 seconds off... did that for just under 10 minutes then called it a day. Outcome.... My shoulders are feeling the "love". It should make for a good swim in the morning.

On a side note I have noticed a greater number of people at the gym. I applaud them for trying to achieve their goals. I truly hope that they continue with them beyond January 26Th. So many people try to start and give up, I have been one of them. The key is to not only hold yourself accountable but also have others hold you accountable. This is one of the reasons I have this blog. I have been called on a few things already... Like not blogging every day, thanks Rob. But bigger than that, It motivates others to try and achieve their goals. When I complete my Ironman, I truly hope it inspires at least one person to jump up off the couch and say "If he can do it so can I!"

Anyways, Just a thought I had this morning when I saw all the extra people at the gym! For everyone who has made a resolution, make it a lifestyle change and not just a temporary fad...!

P.S. Keep holding me accountable. It will push me to go the distance.

Not so great.

2010-01-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

So today was another pathetic day in the way of workouts. Life, A.K.A. my wife keep getting in the way of what I want to do. Love you bunch though hunny! Anyways, we did go for a short hike though... unfortunately it took me longer to drive there than it did for me to get a work out. The dogs at least got a decent workout. Tomorrow is a new day. Got some goggles today at Big 5 after 20 minutes of standing there like a moron trying them on! Didn't go with the ones that I wanted which were 30 bucks, go figure, but I got a good pair that fit comfortably. Id recommend staying away from the OZ pool tomorrow morning, there will be a whale stretching its fins out! Anyways, I calculated it out... 2.4 miles of swimming in the OZ pool is 91.5 there and backs! Yikes! WTH was I thinking... but I feel strong, feel a bit healthier than I have felt in a while (if that's possible), so I will keep busting my butt to make this Pegasus of a goal a reality! So tomorrow, I swim, I ride, and I run! Do a little X-training couple days a week on top of it. May even throw in a 2-A-Day in there somewhere if I am feeling up to it.

Next big purchase will be some decent running shoes, the ones I have now just aren't cutting it. Looks like I will be getting the Nike Shox. Nike makes the Shox in a wide, which of course makes them 130 instead of 90 bucks... and I have to order them from the Nike website. After shoes is a bike. This is the most important purchase I will make for my Ironman event. But, I am going to take some friends/family advice and purchase something lower end to train on, and save my money for an Ironman worthy bike... I figure anything I buy will be better than the bikes they used in the late 70's and 80's for the same event!

Lots of jibber jabber. TTYT. Hopefully this week is better than last. The goal this week. Swim, 10 miles on bike in 20 minutes, and run/jog/walk 2 miles in less that 25 minutes... Doable!

Rest day... I guess..

2010-01-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Well It looks like today is my rest day instead of tomorrow like I had planned. It works out better anyways. Sunday we have to get up early for church, so it makes sense for me to get up just a bit sooner and hit the gym. Ate o.k. today. But can always do better. Trying to find some good healthy recipes to make that are fairly easy and quick. If I find any good ones I will be sure and post them. So far it has been eggs, whole wheat english muffin and a sausage link for breakfast, banana, orange and apple for snacks... chicken or turkey wrap for lunch(ham sandwich also) and then chicken breast with potato or rice for dinner. Nothing fancy. But it is working, I have lost 6 lbs so far this week. My legs feel well rested and strong for a good workout tomorrow. Been going through this book that I got, has a lot of great information. "Complete Triathlete Book" by Triathlete magazine. If you are interested in doing one yourself I recommend it so far! Anyways, hopefully sooner than later I will be posting so PR's to brag about... maybe a bike in the future for training... also am hoping to start hitting the pool next week. SO, more to come!

Discombobulated...

2010-01-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

Today was a weird day. I had a great night last night at John's. Woke up late today which was nice. Hit the gym, towing the misses behind me. another 1.5 on the mill and 8 on the bike. Hoping to throw in swimming and a little X training into the mix next week. If your wondering about the title... All day today I thought it was Saturday. Finally Steph goes, "You know today is only Friday right." Dangit. That means my recovery day isn't tomorrow its two days from now! Crap. Oh well. I will be gracing OZ with my presence when I wake up tomorrow... (will not be 0530!). Picked up what looks like a great "everything you need to know" book about triathlons. Has everything from pointers about equipment, workout programs, and nutrition. Should help me along with my training... I hope. Now I just have to read the dang thing! Nutrition was pretty good today. For some reason I have a more difficult time putting it into place when I don't have work. I am a boredom eater. So just hanging around the house gives me way too many opportunities to eat. But, I still eat often. I just eat better than before, smaller portions than before and I make healthier choices that before. For now, that is a good start!

Anyways, I hope everyone had a safe night. May your new year bring many blessings. I hope it is as healthy of a year as I plan on having.

New Years Eve... Success!

2010-01-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

Today I would consider myself a success. I was able to wake up and go to the gym. I had a decent workout. I ate well. But what I found most impressive about myself... I was able to enjoy a New Years Eve without drinking. That is right. I carried my Nalgene bottle around and drank water. It was tough, their were a lot of people trying to get me drunk, but I worked too hard this week to ruin it with a night of drinking! Happy New Year to you all and I will continue to post my progress! God Bless You All!

Rough...

2009-12-30T21:45:00.001-08:00

This morning was the roughest yet. My legs didn't want to participate in my morning training. A couple of minutes into a warm up on the treadmill I decided to pick up the pace. Only ran for about a minute before my legs felt like they were going to give out. It was different than the normal hurt, and it kinda felt good. It was Fatigue. My legs were more physically tired than they had ever been. Not the torn pain of heavy lifting that I was used to. It was a unique feeling. But I wasn't going to give up, especially after waking up at 0530 again.

So, I tried the bike. Same result, my legs weren't having any of it. I know I needed a good workout so I went and did some weight lifting. Light weights and lots of reps were on the agenda.

I didn't feel like my heart was getting a very good workout so I switched it up and went with an old favorite of Pats. Circuits. Crunches, push ups, squats (the first round anyways) and leg curls. I did 15 reps each with 30 seconds to a minute pause in between. I was able to keep the heart at over 130 the whole workout. After the circuits I tackled the treadmill again and had a little better luck. 18 minutes and 1 mile later I got off the treadmill sweating like a pig.

The nutrition went pretty well today. Didn't really eat as much today as I had the last few days but I also wasn't hungry. I still had 5 or 6 meals today, just smaller amounts. Ooh good dinner today. If you get to the store, you have to try the Turkey Bratwursts. Only 160 calories for a good sized Brat and man was it fantastic! Anyways, tomorrow is another day! See yah then.

Day two went pretty well.

2009-12-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

Ugh. Honestly this morning thing kinda sucks. But, it is necessary and I will continue to do it until I achieve my goals. So, 0530 I will be at the gym... Or at least on the way to the gym. Today was a better day. I was able to go 8 miles in 20 minutes on the bike. Not so fast on the treadmill... haha. I was able to jog pretty fast for almost half of my treadmillin'. Still took me like 15 minutes to go a mile. I have a long ways to go. But, another decent day today. Eating was better, had I not missed my lunch hour I wouldn't have been hungry at all. I eat when my stomach tells me to. I stop eating when it says its o.k. Trying to keep my daily calories under 2500'ish a day. Yesterday I was at like 1800, today closer to 2100. Anyways, from the sound of it I may have a couple of people who want to run the Pear Blossom with me. So, now I have other people counting on me to get in shape! Good. I can use all the drive I can get my hands on. Menyana!

So early

2009-12-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

0530 my alarm went off. Yuck. It was a fairly uneventful first day. Hit the gym for about an hour this morning. 15 minutes on the Elliptical, 20 minutes on the bike and 20 minutes on the treadmill. Also did a little bit of core work. I kept it somewhat light today. I have a habit of hitting the gym so hard the first day back that I can't move the next 4 days. So I took it a bit easy. Other than that. My eating was o.k. today. I ended up going lighter on that Calories than I should have. By 3 p.m. I had only had about 900 calories and was really hungry! Going to have to dial in the calories better if I'm going to make this happen. Anyways, tomorrow is another day. See you then.

The Goal...

2009-12-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

This is a goal that has been a long time in the making. This goal has been in my head since I was about 11 years old. I never thought I could come anywhere close to accomplishing this goal until a few weeks ago when I saw Matt Hoover make it a reality (almost) on The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now. Matt missed the cutoff by 3 minutes. But was able to finish the Ironman weighing in at 242 lbs.

SO, starting tomorrow morning I begin training for an Ironman. Thats right, I said an Ironman. For those who don't know an Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.

A little about myself. I am 26 years old. I am "morbidly obese" by definition. I am 5'10'' tall and weigh in at 290 lbs. I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. Those who know me well have seen me try hard and fail numerous times when it came to losing weight.

The plan is as followed. I will be "blogging" my workouts on a day to day basis, along with what I am thinking, feeling, etc. My first goal is to run the Pear Blossom 10 mile run in 4 months. I have never ran more than a mile in my life so this will be quite an interesting road. The next hurtle will be to run a Marathon towards the end of the year. October of 2010 the lottery opens for the 2011 Kona Ironman World Championship. I will be applying for a lottery spot in October. I have a long, painstaking road ahead of me. And I plan to share my experience along the way. So feel free to comment if you want.