Journey of a Fat Man

265

I am working my way down 1 pound at a time.  Exactly 40 pounds away from my original weight goal.

This coming weekend I will be attending my second 5k ever.  The excitement and expectations are already kicking in.  You have no idea how amazing an experience this is for me.  Just a few years ago I was expecting to be in a wheelchair by my 40th birthday, because of chronic back pain…mostly caused because of my weight.  I had gotten complacent in my obesity and accepted the hand that I was dealt, not knowing that all I had to do is ask, no beg, for a reshuffle.  But, I do not think this lifestyle change of mine would have happened until I had reached that "rock bottom" stage.  From there, there was nowhere to go but up.  I would have never been motivated enough to stick with any sort of "diet."  And exercise?  Who you kidding?  Until I was prepared to start clawing myself out of this 6 foot deep hole I had gotten myself into, nothing would have stuck.  From time to time I look back at the strides I have taken to date.  A little over a year ago, I was barely able to walk.  I pulled some stats from the Nike+ site, where I upload all my Nike+ chip data after every jaunt.  Since I used this wonderful little device on my first workout (March 22, 2010) until yesterday (40 total workouts), I have logged 93.41 miles (combination of running and walking), total duration of 22hrs:58mins:03secs, and burnt approximately 19,176 calories.  And I would have to say that I have missed 10-12 miles where either my iPod battery died or I did not have the device with.  Last week alone:

Monday(6/7): ran 2.02 miles (avg pace 10:42/mi), then walked 2.02 miles
Tuesday(6/8): ran 2.01 miles (11:24/mi)
Thursday(6/10): ran 2.02 miles (11:16/mi)
Saturday(6/12): ran 2.42 miles (11:50/mi)
Sunday(6/14): ran 3.03 miles (11.22/mi

Last week’s total: 13.52 miles.

While training for the half marathon, I am trying to work on a consistent pace of 11:00/mile.  I know sometimes it really seems slow, but at this point it is very comfortable for me to sustain.  I swear this little old lady with a walker was going to pass me the other day.  I think if she would have had those little tennis balls on the bottom of her walker instead of the rubber stoppers, she would have. 

The 3 miles yesterday felt pretty good.  I think I probably would have had another mile or two in me, but I am trying to stick with the program.  In fact, I was supposed to run last Friday as well, but I spent the entire day with my daughter and did not feel the least bit guilty.  We hit every single park we could and just enjoyed hanging out with each other all day long.  It was unbelievable how much energy I had throughout the day.  It was not nearly as much as she had, but I tried to keep up.

So, what do I have in store for this week?  Today is my off day, Tues – 3 mi., Wed – 3 mi., Thurs – 2 mi., Fri – 3 mi., Sat – 3 mi., Sun – 2 mi. for a total of 16 miles.  Should be a busy week.  I am using this training plan as a guideline.  If during the week I feel that I am not getting enough rest, I will drop in an off day, but I will try to stick as close to it as I can.

93 pounds down and loving it! (That 100 pound mark is in my sights)