OFFICIAL: Weigh In - 04.13.12

This week, I missed one scheduled Alpha session. I say “one scheduled” because as of late I’ve been going an extra day (four times a week) pretty regularly. So this week I was down to only two sessions at Alpha. I also missed two days of cardio. I missed all this because I was traveling, and traveling also brings with it a bit of difficulty in eating proper all the time.

So, all things considered, I am not at all upset about this week’s gain. You take the good, you take the bad (…and now you have, the facts of life.)

Official 04.13.12 Weigh In: 349.4 pounds
Total Weekly Weight GAIN: 2.4 pounds
Total 2012 Weight Loss: 33.2 pounds

OFFICIAL: Weigh in - 04.06.12

Not as big of a loss this week. I’ve only got so much time to hit my goal of 299 by August 25th, so I really need to buckle down on eating. Also, I didn’t RUN at all this week, got out of sync after the 5k, and a couple other things happened that prevented me from getting it in (including resting my shins and hamstrings). Will get back on it next week and hope for a bigger loss.

Official 04.06.12 Weigh In: 347 pounds
Total Weekly Weight Loss: 3 pounds
Total 2012 Weight Loss: 35.6 pounds

PS - Worth noting that I have now lost over 60 pounds since re-starting this journey in August of 2011. Most of the weight loss came when I really committed in November though.

Stupid/Great

Well, I finished.

I finished in 44 minutes, to be exact. 6 minutes faster than my goal, which is something I’m extremely stoked about.

Listen, I know I’ve been talking a lot about this 5K, and for some people a 5K probably isn’t that big of a deal.. but for me? A guy who less than a year ago weighed 410 pounds? Who still weighs 350? A guy who was as lazy as they come?

It’s a big deal. At least to me.

It was the stupidest, and one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. I not only got through it, but I legitimately feel okay. I don’t feel like death, I’m not in pain, I feel good. My favorite moments (it’s at tie) by far was being joined by my guys; Jason, Randy and Matt for the last half mile. They all finished in under thirty minutes, but they came back out on the course and jogged me in. That, and my family; my mom, dad, sister, niece, wife and daughter all surprised me and were at the finish line to cheer me on. It was pretty special. I think everyone, including me, understood just how big of a deal this was. It’s only a stepping stone in my journey, but it was a BIG one.

I’m not saying I’m going to be a runner. I don’t have any desire to compete on any level at this. But I do think I could see myself doing a number of 5K’s a year. It’s surprisingly fun. And truth be told, the bagels you get at the end are probably the best tasting bagels in the history of mankind. No earthly reason for it, they’re just sooo good after that run =)

And a HUGE thanks to all of you online. The Nike+ running app is so freaking awesome… every time someone comments and/or likes the update on facebook or path that says I just started running, every time someone interacts with it I hear the sound of applause coming through my headphones. So many of you interacted that I didn’t get a chance to listen to much music =). I’m not complaining about that, it was pretty cool. Between that, and the five minute motivation speech I had in my playlist at the halfway mark, and I never lost focus. Thank you ALL so much for your support, I can’t say enough how much it meant.

Goals For Tomorrow’s 5K

  • Don’t quit. Finish.
  • Act as if. Act as if I’ve done this a million times before. Don’t let people see how uncomfortable or in pain I am. I might feel weak, but people won’t know it.
  • Try not to look like an idiot.
  • Finish in under 50 minutes.

I decided to take Jason and Matt up on their prodding to get me to do this 5K because I wanted to get a baseline. I want to see where I’m at and how I can improve. I’m not expecting to set the world on fire, and I’m certainly not thinking I’ll be running the whole thing. My plan is to go with an interval approach. Right now I’m thinking run sixty seconds, walk ninety. Do that over and over till I finish.

The race starts at 10am. There will be an update (so long as there is a cellular connection) of when I start… so y’all will know when I start and finish =). And, just because I’m that guy, I’ll probably even attempt to snap an instagram or two during =).