Wilson!!!!!

Five weeks and three days remaining until July 4, and it's looking a little too close for comfort. But first, let's talk about Wilson.

Last week, while drawing water before giving the kids a bath in our master bathroom over-sized garden tub, I turned on the jets. Unfortunately, the jets were not aimed downward, and the water was not up enough yet. So a large stream of about 128 ounces (1 gallon) of water promptly shot from the tub, all the way across the bathroom, and as far as into our bedroom. It only took a second, before I shut the water spraying engine off.

Later on that evening, Lori commented about the wetness of the bathroom, and noted that my beloved digital scale was pretty soaked. I wiped it off and gave it a test. "Err," it replied back to me. After repeated tries, and even replacing the battery, I still got the same thing. Suddenly this feeling of loneliness and abandonment set in. I immediately connected with Tom Hanks' character in Castaway, when he lost his only company - Wilson - a volleyball decorated as a person. I felt like the scale and I had been through so much, and now, just about a month to go to achieve "our goal," my Wilson was gone! Sure I could buy a new scale, but would it be as accurate and dependable as Wilson?

The next morning, I fiddled with it some more. It got beyond the "Err" message and then showed me a weight of 625.7 lbs. Now we're making progress. Next, it was in the 500's. Later in the 300's, then the high 200's. Lori commented that perhaps it was wrong before and was right now. Well I kept coming back until it gave me an answer in the ball park of where it was the day before... around 245.0.

So that's where I am. Actually, at this moment, I am probably up a few from there, after 5 days of working on the deck and eating not so well and not running. So I have 5 weeks, and 3 days to drop about 6 more pounds from my low of 245. It's going to be close. I may have to plan a road race on July 4 - the Great Raleigh Road Race. That would be a fitting finale since (I think) that was my first race some 22+ years ago while a junior at NC State.

At least Wilson is ready for it.

My Top 10 Keys to Weight Loss

I spend some time thinking when I'm running. When I'm not thinking about the liklihood of stepping in a hole or tripping over something while running in the dark of my neighborhood, I'm thinking about what song is next on my iPod, or when a dog will unexpectedly appear from the shadows of their owner's picket fence and bark ferociously, scaring the living crap out of me. It's pretty much those 3 things. Lately, I've also been thinking about the key things that have made the weight loss and exercise effort of 2008 a success so far. People do ask me, "How have you done it?" So here's my Top 10 list.

1. God: Before I started this, I knew I needed to lose weight, and I knew how to do it. I just wasn't motivated. I prayed that God would motivate me, and get me started. I think God has given me a new perspective on diet and exercise that complements my strengths, carries me through weaknesses, and encourages me like never before.


2. Family: My family certainly pleaded with me to lose weight for many years, when I have been in my off-diet cycles. And of course they have encouraged me along the way. But I do have to give my wife Lori a lot of credit for encouraging me and never giving me any excuse to skip a run. It takes time to exercise, and she has sacrificed some longer hours with the kids so that I can go do a run or work out.


3. Alli: This pill seems to have helped me lost about 40-50% more than I have lost in the past.


4. Blog / humor: Writing this blog has allowed me some humor vents and self accountability. Trying to examine myself from outside of myself gives some new perspectives and motivations that were not there before.


5. Unsweet Tea & Frozen Lunches: I buy a gallon of tea every Monday morning, and use it all week at work. I switched to unsweet, which I enjoy with Splenda and my frozen lunch from Lean Cuisine or Right Ones (Weight Watchers). I've tried Healthy Choice, but didn't find those to be as reliably good. Exchanging trips to the cafeteria for frozen diet food has had a significant impact. I still have the buffalo chicken wrap on Wednesday.


6. iPod & Bose earbuds: Being able to run while listening to a random mix of 5000 of my favorite tunes in high-quality full range audio is a beautiful thing.
   
7. Elliptical - I didn't start running on this diet until about 10 lbs into it. I think that building up my leg strength from 0 to -10 lbs really helped me in running, and has helped prevent injuries.


8. Weather - Being able to run at night during the winter and early spring was a bit cold at times.... but it beats running in summer heat. The summer is a terrible time for a big guy to start working out outside.


9. Goal setting - Setting a goal and measuring progress has surprisingly been a good motivator for me. "40 by the 4th!"


10. mapmyrun.com - This is a website using the Google maps system which allows mapping of the various routes I've run around the neighborhood. It beats trying to drive it like I used to. And it's fun to use too!

So there you have it, in case you ever ask...

I'm a Clydesdale!

I have joked recently that if there was an age/weight division in a 5k road race, then I could win the 250 lb / 43 year old division due to lack of competition. So as I was signing up for the Highcroft Hurricanes 5k next weekend, I noticed they actually have a division for "larger" runners! It's called the Clydesdale and Athena divisions and is for men over 200 lbs and women over 150 lbs. So I'm going for it! Two hundred pounds is not that big for a man, so I'm sure there will be plenty of guys in that bracket faster than me. But it's fun to know there's a division based on weight. Apparently this is not uncommon, as I found many references to Clydesdale / Athena on the web.

The diet is going well. I finally crossed into the 240's this past week, so I'm 30 pounds down to 249-ish. Two more months to make the final 10 pounds and meet the "40 by the 4th" goal. I need to lose some more quick. I have very few clothes that fit me now, but if I can lose another 1/2" I have several more pairs of jeans that will fit me. If I can get down to 38, I have a TON of jeans, most of which are 12+ years old!

As for exercise, I've cut back on elliptical use in favor of running. I'm trying to get to where I can run on consecutive days. Waiting 2-4 days in between, whether by choice or by schedule, is not working, as I am having a hard time recovering when I start each time. Last week was very hard to run at night as I had so much work to do, and so little sleep. So yesterday (Saturday) I ran 2.7 miles, and then today, about 1.5. Felt pretty good except that my ankle was having some pain yesterday, along with the sun warming up and beating on me some. Today was just fine, however. The endorphins are kicking in.

I dread the summer. I just cannot run in hot humidity. I remember back in college I would come home from my co-op job and go running around 5pm in the heat of summer. I was living at Avery Close on Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh. It is a wonder I didn't die of heat stroke. Of course, then I was pushing a svelte 220 lbs.... Still a Clydesdale, however.

GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!

Until now, none of our kids have shown much interest in soccer. I remember entering Seth in a league at age 4, and he just stood on the field and looked around or cried. Caleb cried on the way to the first practice, after we had signed him up to play. At least he got a shirt out of it. Luke, on the other hand, has been through several soccer camps at age 4, and now at age 5 is on his first team, The Raptors. Each "game," they practice for about 20 minutes, then they play a 40-minute scrimmage game with the team on the other side of the field. There is no goalie in this league, so as to allow as much soccer self esteem to build as possible.

We are in soccer mecca for the U.S., where the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) rules the schedules of many families. We also have the SAS Soccer Park, where the last several men's or women's NCAA Final Four championship games have been hosted. Other than hockey, soccer is probably the other main sport I've never really played, or enjoyed, though I do enjoy watching hockey.

In this particular game, Luke got to show off his offensive skills, scoring at least 4 goals. I think I missed 1-2 additional goals on the video footage I gathered this past Saturday. Others on his team scored about 4-5 combined goals. Though they don't "keep score" at this age, the other team scored one goal, I think. I don't think they had many shots on goal either. It was tough getting past The Raptor defensive wall.

In prior games, where the opponent has had more shots on goal, Luke typically does well to play defense and guard the goal by anticipating shots and sweeping around to block the shots, usually with a diving slide, much like in baseball. This day, he was all offense, though he was playing with a skinned knee from the day before. You will see that he injures the knee further on a slide into the goal, and then limps off towards the camera. He sat out a rotation while I bandaged him up, then he was back in the game, and did well.

I edited the video together, but then had fun adding in some audio clips from various international soccer matches. There are some audio problems at the 3 minute mark, and that goal was the one with the announcer saying "GOOOOOAAAAALLLL".... but I'll have to work on that problem another day. It's quite funny! Enjoy!

I Made It in 31:45!

I made it. It wasn't really a "fun" run. Next time, I will enter the competitive race instead of the "recreational" one. Subtracting out the 30 seconds or so it took to get to the starting line, I crossed the finish line with a time of about 31 minutes 45 seconds.

After Thursday night's butt injury, I was pretty sure I would be able to, at best, walk this event. But I prepared as well as I could this morning. I was already taking a daily anti-inflammatory pill due to an injury from last summer that is still plaguing me. I added a hydrocodone (aka Vicodin) to that. I stretched for about an hour before the shotgun start, and ran a few slow sprints to test out the pain endurance. I prayed God would carry me where I wasn't able to.

I did feel a dull sense of pain throughout the race, especially going up the huge hill that dominated the first mile. However, I took it slow (as evidenced by the 10+ minute miles I "ran") and the pain was not too bad. In fact, by the time I was done, I felt well enough to come home and mow the lawn!

It was a great feeling to stand in the pack, waiting for the start with hundreds of others, most younger, smaller, and more fit than I am now. The sights and sounds of a simple local 5k road race brought back a lot of memories. The occasional cheers from observers. The erratic running of some people weaving in and out, jockeying for position. The water cups being offered near each mile marker, and resultant litter being run over by the pack or blown away by the wind. The undesired head winds and blazing sun. Even in a 72 degree morning, the direct sun was warm. Trying to coordinate the key, the ID, the music, and the stuff you pick up from the vendors, such as pamphlets for future races. The souvenir race shirt which more often than not does not fit well or has crappy artwork. It's all good, and I'm pleased that it's over... and I made it. Now... to schedule the next race...