Seasons 52 5.2K DONE!

That’s it sports fans!  The Seasons 52 5.2K is in the books…  It was a great race put on by Track Shack and Seasons 52. Alas neither Amanda nor I were a 52nd finisher so no gift cards but we both got something better—Personal Records!  Amanda tore up the brick lined streets of Winter Park and finished the 5K portion in 37:10 and the .1 extra in 39:44.  I am so proud of her, plus it was nice to see her at the finish line.  For me I was guaranteed a personal record because it was my first official race, but I did beat my training times by 14 minutes!

So the morning was very very chilly and Amanda and I were off to the races.  It was very odd being on the course as a participant and not a spectator.

My biggest FAN!

So there I was standing on the street ready to go with all the walkers (and unfortunately not the walking dead kind…or my time would have been much faster)

And we were off and my first official 5K was underway.  So in my last post there was an “issue” with the image of the back of my shirt so I was able to fix it and here is what it looked like.

Apparently I was walking motivation because as soon as we rounded the first corner every group I passed started running and I just laughed.  My favorite people were the ones who would run and pass me then start walking and I would catch up to them.  But I ran my race at my pace.  The neighborhood we walked in was beautiful except for the brick streets..while nice to look at they were a pain to walk on and were anything but level.  That being said it didn’t take away from being a great race to run..um walk.

Another great thing I found today was a station on Pandora called “Classic Rock Power Workout”  it is amazing!  as I approached mile one Eye of the Tiger came on and I powered on.

Finishing is WINNING!

I loved the motivational saying on the mile markers.  Now the time shown was clock time and not my actual time.  At this point I was at 15:13 for the first mile and feeling strong.  So I powered on. On to Mile 2

Outrun you doubt!

Again this was not my time.  I was at 30:33 and my pace had slowed down by :07 seconds but I was still doing well and so I powered on!  At this point we were  passing the Baptist Church in the area and they were outside singing to everyone as they went by.  It was great! Reminded me of the last mile in the Disney runs right before you head to the finish line.  Mile 3 was in sight and I powered on.

If you can dream it you can do it!

Again this was not my time I was at 45:26 and there were only two turns left.  The big shocker was my pace had jumped up to 14:53 a mile apparently for some reason I was motivated.  I knew Amanda was waiting around the corner.  I officially finished the 5K in 48:13 which was 14 min faster than my fastest walk around the neighborhood.  But we had .1 miles to go.  I made the last right and there it was…..MY FIRST FINSIH LINE!

FINISH LINE!!!!!

I can see the finish line it’s right there.  Make way for the fat guy I am coming through.  BTW I passed the guy in the green and his face at the finish line was priceless.  I finished with a clock time of 52.01 which was funny because this was the Seasons 52 5.2k and my chip time was 50:05.  I kept what I like to call Disney pace and that was my goal.  It felt weird crossing the finish line and hearing them call out my name and now I know why people do this…I’m hooked… I want the finish lines and I want the bling!  No bling today from the Seasons 52 race but I also was doing a Virtual Race called the Jedi Challenge and will be receiving this little beauty sometime in March.

I mean really how cool is this?

I was a great day!  Amanda and I both PR’d and I got to cross my first (of many now) finish lines!  I officially have gotten the bug for these races or as Amanda says “5K’s are the marijuana of races that’s how they get you started”  I guess if that is true it gives new meaning to “Puff Puff Pass”  or would it be more like “Huff and Puff, Huff and Puff, Pass?”  And the grand finale……..

See the guy in green to the left of the picture 🙂

I want to take the time to thank everyone again for the encouragement and support especially Amanda and the kiddos!  The journey has just begun and it’s a marathon not a sprint.  Enjoy the ride the Fat Guy is coming through!

T-Minus 21 hours!

Well sports fans it is just under a full 24 hours until the FAT GUY hits the mean streets of Winter Park for my first ever 5k…well official one.  The Seasons 52 5.2K

I know I promised a special surprise for my running attire and I wanted to give you a quick peek…so here it is

Front of my shirt

And here is the back—-

Oh no! there must be a problem with the image…oh well guess you will have to wait until tomorrow to see the back!

 

Thanks again to everyone for the support and I will attempt to remember to post pics during the race tomorrow.

Sunday Ru…errr Walk Day

So today was a first for a few things.  I got to break in my new shoes on the road and I did another 3.1 miles back to back.  I am definitely feeling better about the race this weekend with Amanda.  So after my 3.1 the kiddos had a lot of energy left to burn and really wanted to go for a bike ride around the neighborhood.  So after dinner we went around the neighborhood a couple times.  Another 1.59  miles for me today.  So this was also the farthest I have walked in one day.  But how could I resist these faces?

Another first today was I walked this afternoon with my good friend Chuck from work.  Chuck is on a journey of his own to lose some weight and I figured there is strength in numbers.  Today was his first day walking as well.  He was a real trooper and kept pushing through.  I even gave him an out around mile 2 to go back to the house but he wanted to power on and finished his first 3.1 miles.  I was very proud of Chuck and kept cheering him on through the whole walk.  He kept apologizing about slowing me down but I was going for distance not time and I was happy to be on the road with him supporting him.  I look forward to more weekends walking together.  I tried to convince him to sign up for the Seasons 52 5.2k but a 730 am start on a Saturday was not in his future.  I will give him this he doesn’t get off work until 11pm.

Well it was a great day now the wait for Saturday.

Temptations all around- Not because I can’t but because I didn’t want to.

One thing that I decided during this journey was that I was not going to say I CAN’T have something.  I have however CHOSEN not to partake of certain things.  I have not had a soda in two weeks, and believe it or not I have been pretty good with that.  However, there are some things that are a little harder to pass up.  

I give you peoples exhibit #1:

Donuts or Doughnuts however you please (really this shouldn’t shock you), those little fluffy circles of goodness.  I LOVE donuts! So a couple of weeks ago after I dropped the kids off at Religious ED I decided that instead of going home and getting the dog all worked up only to leave a few minutes later, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to have a coffee and just relax.  Yes I know I walked into the lions den of fluffy round chocolate goodness.  But I figured its better not to run from temptation but to meet it head on and workout that willpower/lifestyle change muscle.  So now every Tuesday I walk in there order my coffee and sit down to relax and soak everything in.  Plus it smells pretty good to.

Peoples exhibit #2:

 Me encanta el queso I mean I really do.  Who wouldn’t?  I have recently had two encounters with this spicy little vixen.  One at Moe’s the other day while having lunch with some coworkers and then again tonight at Chuy’s while out with the family.  Now at Moe’s it was easier to resist all I had to do was tell the guy behind the counter that I would not like any with my meal.  Tonight on the other hand there it was less than a foot away right next to the basket of crispy tortilla chips.  And proudly I resisted.  Not because I couldn’t have it but because I didn’t want it.

 

And finally Peoples Exhibit #3:

I know I know how can one not love this twistee headed little bastard and all the low fat, low cal, delicious goodness that he holds inside?  Well its not the froze yogurt that is the problem its all his little friends that get you in trouble.  Mini Reese’s Pieces, Mini M&Ms, Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Covered Almonds, Sprinkles, and of course the Pièce de résistance  COOKIE DOUGH!. Tonight after battling Senor Queso the kiddos wanted to go to Menchies.  For once I was able to resist grabbing that bowl and filling it up.  Not because I couldn’t have it but because I didn’t want it.  

Now could I have had all of these things? Yes I most certainly could but I choose not to.  Now with that being said if I were to finish a half marathon you better believe I am celebrating with a big ol chocolate covered donut.  One thing I decided when I began this journey was I was going to do it my way.  No pills, no gimmicks, no fads, just hard work.  I don’t need this to happen over night, I just need it to happen.  Who knows maybe I will budget my calories one Tuesday and have that donut….Not because I can’t but because I want to.

 

Runners Runners Everywhere!

It has been a while since I posted last but I have a really good reason.  WORK! We had the Walt Disney World Marathon this weekend and I was surrounded by runners, and walkers(and not the walking dead kind), and one guy with a tuba.  There was a 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, and the full Marathon 48.6 miles total.  Some of the people even ran all 4 races.  Seeing all those runners 80,000 roughly and all that bling kept me motivated.  I am happy to report that I was surrounded by both good for you and not so good for your snacks and I did very well staying away from the not so good snacks.  I even went the whole time without drinking a soda! That’s HUGE for me.  

So I am still doing well with my eating and have stayed under my calorie goals.  I am still seeing letters on my scale but in due time.  I will say I have been feeling better and have had more energy and that is promising.  I have not been as good about my exercising but it was a crazy work week and I walked a ton around for the races, I just don’t know how to capture that.  

On a bigger note I registered for my first official race the Seasons 52 5.2K!  I have three goals for that race 1: Start 2: Finish and 3: Don’t be last!  And there will be a surprise revealed for the race…..but you will have to wait to find out!

 

See Numbers Not Letters

So day two in the books finished with 549 calories to go of my daily allotment and didn’t feel like I had starved myself.  Also had a big first for the day as well.  I walked my first unofficial 5K today(my first official will be on Jan 25th for the Seasons 52 5.2K put on by Track Shack), I didn’t exactly set out to walk that far but I got in a groove.  Was about to go walk on the treadmill and Amanda suggested that I walk outside since it was nice.  Amanda mentioned that she thought it was about  3 miles down and back to a neighborhood not far from us.  Before I left I got some help from the kiddos stretching out.  They are two of my biggest cheerleaders and hopefully what I am doing sets a good example for them.

 

 

So I started out on my walk and on the way back I started hitting the wall.  Now I have heard of this when your walking or running and pretty much you feel like your legs are turning to jelly and you just want to be done.  Well since I was still a distance from home I had to keep going through the wall and once your on the other side it definitely gets better.  So as I walked I was hearing my distance being read out in my ear and I kept getting closer and closer to that 3.1 mark.  So I decided I was going for it.  AND I DID IT!  Only thing I realized after I was done was my shoes are badly in need of replacement.

 

So after I got done with my walk I decided that I needed to set some small goals to keep me motivated on the way.  So I set my first one.  “SEE NUMBERS NOT LETTERS”  and it doesn’t sound as crazy as it sounds.  You see the scale in our bathroom only goes up to 300 pounds and anything about that it will display “EE” on it.  So once I hit 300 pounds I will see numbers not letters.  I also started to think about some DO’s and DONT’s for my journey and where I am and where I want to go.  Here are a few.

 

• I DO want to get into better shape
• I DO want to want to be healthier
• I DO want to set a good example for my children
• I DO want to be here for my wife (who else is going to torment her like I do in public?)
• I DO want to feel good about my appearance again

 

• I DON’T want to have more chins that a person should
• I DON’T want brushing my teeth to cause a ripple effect
• I DON’T want to get winded tying my shoes
• I DON’T want my feet to be a stranger any more

I want to also thank everyone I know and some folks I don’t for all the words of encouragement it is greatly appreciated.  Till next time.

 

Becoming half the man I am today…..Or close to half

Many (and I mean many) years ago I was probably in the best shape of my life.  I was line dancing multiple times a week, hadn’t discovered the wonder that is alcohol and was too busy(or too poor I cant remember) to eat too much.  I weighed 175 pounds and had a 33 inch waist.  Handsome devil, wasn’t I?

Then things began to change, mostly my size.  I went off to Florida State University and discovered alcohol, didn’t line dance anymore (due to lack of venue) and life started to add stuff to my plate (so did I – I mean buffets were cheap to a college guy).  I definitely added the freshman 15, but I was a junior.  So graduation came and went, and back out into the real world I went.

As time went on I added a few pounds here and there, ok, everywhere.  I even added a few chins.  But I didn’t think much about it because I was a single guy and I was still young I would have time to get back into the gym and get back into shape.  Umm, not so much.  But I did luck out and found a BEAUTIFUL woman who wanted to marry me and I jumped all over that opportunity.  I had found love, and well she loved me for who I was, so getting back into shape got put off a little more.  It’s all good though, I still had time.

Fast forward to today, 2014, almost 8 years of marriage, 2 kids, and a career.  Oh, and did I mention I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life.  I’m around 315-320 pounds, (my scale at home doesn’t go up that high, but last time I was at the doctor I was around that) 46 inch waist, and 18 1/2 neck.  Far cry from 175 pounds and 33 inch waist.  So with some encouragement (strong encouragement) from my wife and the image I was looking at in the mirror every morning, I decided to get my butt in gear and do something about it.  Yes, I know its 4 days into the new year, but a butt this big takes some time to get into gear.

This is where the blog comes into play.  I wanted to have something that could hold me accountable to eating right, working out, and maybe pick up some extra cheerleaders on my road to half the man I am today.  I am simply going to keep track of my calorie intake, exercise more, and hopefully the pounds start coming off.  Time to get rid of my dun-lops disease, that and I miss my feet I would like to see them again one day.

So here goes…..Day one in the books!