Day Thirty: Five Miles and A Little Boy

I had a run today. I set out to do another distance run but I was a little apprehensive as to how far I was going to go because I was afraid my right calf didn't have time to heal since the HUMP we did on Sunday. I set off from my house and started running towards Subway. I know where 1.5 miles is and once I get there I turn around to complete the full three miles but today I went past that point. I kept running past Walmart and towards the park. This route is hilly. More hills than I usually train on but I knew my legs had the strength to do it. Once I was by the park I was over two miles and pretty much half way back home. I turned the corner and a long stretch lay in front of me with a pretty good sized hill at the end. This part of the route crosses the rail road tracks and a train was on its way. It passed right before I got to the train tracks so I didn't have to stop although my legs wanted a rest. I started up the hill and was at a good pace. My breathing was heavy but controlled. I could feel my heart starting to pump a little harder than usual.

That's when I heard a voice say "Hey." I looked up and saw a boy standing on the side of the road in his yard. He once again said "hey," so I said "What's up?" He said something that I couldn't make out and I knew at that point the little boy was challenged in some way. I said I didn't understand what he said and he asked if I would come over there. I stopped my watch and went over to the little boy. I said if he would repeat what he said and he did. "What are you doing?" he asked. I told him that I was running. "Why?" he asked. I told him that I was running to get healthy. He said "Cool." He asked where I ran from. I told him that I lived just on the other side of the hill and that I ran all the way around. He said "That's awesome!" He said he lived in the house he was standing in front of. I asked if they just moved in, I already knew the answer because we had seen the for sale signs go down not too long ago. He said "Yeah!" I told him he has a nice house and he said thanks. I told him that I was going to finish my run and said bye. I turned my watch back on and as I started to finish the hill I heard him yell "Bye!" I threw my hand up to wave. This little encounter took all of 20 seconds to happen but talking to that little boy reminded me of how fortunate I am to be able to run like I do. I don't know much about the boy but I could discern that he was challenged by the way he spoke. He was so interested in my running and I'm glad I took 20 seconds out of my day, out of my run to walk over and talk to him. I could have just said "Hi" and went on my way but I didn't. Instead I talked to a little boy that I never met in my life and just by the way he was interested in what I was doing and the excitement he had in his voice for me to answer a few questions he had made the run I had all that much better. I felt bit of a hop in my stride all the way to the finish.

Then I came to Robbie's hill. I conquered it and not only that, I didn't have to stop at the top to catch my breath, I kept running all the way to my driveway. After it was all done I mapped out what I had ran and it totaled 4.91 miles in 56 minutes and change. I kind of hoped that I could do 5 miles in 55 minutes but with the added hills I slowed my pace to save my legs for the hills. At the pace I set today I will average a little over 5 miles an hour so I should be able to finish the half marathon in 2 hours and 40 minutes. That is a rough estimation of course and hopefully by the time the half marathon comes I will be able to take that time down a little. I think these HUMPs that we do are helping and will keep helping by building up leg muscles and endurance. I will weigh in the morning to see how I finished out January and start February. I will let you know what the number is tomorrow. Until next time...Peace be with you!!!

Day Twenty Nine: Weigh in

Haven't blogged in a few days but I'm back. Had a good hike on Sunday with my brother. We went 10.77 miles approx. We started off on a train track and we were quickly reminded of the movie Stand By Me. The only bridge we crossed was a small one but we couldn't help but think of the scene with the train on that movie. All in all it was a pretty good hike. At the end of it we run Robbie's hill mail box to mail box. That gets my heart rate up quick because of the extra weight I carry running up the hill. Feels good at the end of the hike though to run up that hill. I think that either my pack isn't packed right or I really favor my right leg but both times we have went out my right calf kills me later that evening. It feels like I pulled something. But it goes away after a day or two. I am getting a day pack that way I don't have the lug around my big pack on these hikes. No need for it unless I'm actually planning to go hiking and stay the night. Can't wait to get my day pack. Not only is it a day pack but it can double as my laptop bag when I'm not hiking with it. So it will do double duty since my laptop bag is falling apart a little bit. Guess that's what I get with buying a cheaper laptop bag.

With getting back into this hiking stuff I can't help but think of Jarrod. I remember him going on an urban hike one time in Siloam. He was texting me the entire time. Funny stuff like that I miss. He would have loved to go on these little day hikes with me and my brother. When I get my day pack I know he would have went out to buy one as well just so that he would have something that I also had. He was little competitive like that. The only memories of I had of hiking were with him but now I am on to making new memories.

I run tomorrow so I will update tomorrow night with how it goes. I don't know if I will go that long of a distance because of my right calf. It still feels a little stiff but I will definitely get a run in. I weighed in this morning and I weight 195!!! 128 pounds down. I think I will weigh on the 1st of February so I know how I did in January and where I'm starting for February. We are going to Destin Florida in February and I have dreamed of running on the beach a couple of miles and I will get to do that at the end of the month. That should be a good run with the ocean next to me. I can't wait! Until next time...Peace be with you!!!

P.S. I told my wife what I want for my reward for hitting 180 pounds and I know this will sound weird but I want a double quarter pounder with cheese and fries!!! I haven't had that in over a year now and that is what I want. She thinks I will get sick from the grease but bring it on. This is my reward as of now.....I'm sure I will think of something else that I want later!

Day Twenty Five: 5 Miles and Falling Star

I did a distance run today at the Gentry park. I wanted to see if I could do 9 laps at the route I run at the park. I knew it would take around 55 minutes to do so I set off with that goal in mind. It was tough but I felt really good about this run. The sun was just setting as I started to run. It was brisk and little to no wind. The first mile went easy, the second mile I hit my stride and my breathing became controlled. Mile three started getting a little tough but it was just my legs wanting to stop, I wasn't breathing hard or anything so I knew that I had plenty of gas left in the tank so, despite what my body wanted to do, I pushed forward. After completing lap seven I knew that I was at four miles. I was fixing to go beyond how far I have ever ran before. Lap eight and I was starting to feel it in my legs, my muscles let me know that they haven't been pushed this far before but I set a goal in my mind and no part of my body was going to stop me. I completed lap eight and started lap nine. This is where I was planning to get to. After this lap I was going to stop because I had reached my goal. I was on the last stretch of lap nine, almost to the finish line. The night sky had come over the park and right in front of me a falling star streaked across the sky. I knew that whoever looks over me was telling me that I could do more if I wanted. I'm not a too religious person at all but I do feel that someone is looking over me at times and helps me through times that I struggle. Whoever it is gives me strength and lets me know that I can overcome whatever life throws at me. I took this as a sign that I wasn't meant to stop at lap nine. I went across the finish line and kept going. Lap ten was quickly disappearing under my Nike Free Run shoes. I stepped up to a faster pace to finish strong. The finish line was in front of me and I crossed it feeling a sense of accomplishment that I felt once before after I finished my first 5K. The feeling of knowing I can run distances that I never imagined I could run. I weighed 323 pounds and never believed that I could have the determination and drive to go out and run for miles and not feel like I'm fixing to keel over! I used to believe that I should only run if I'm being chased. I never thought that I would just go out and run for the hell of it. But here I am, 126 pounds lighter and I run every other day for the fun of it and the health benefits I get from it. Completely different mindset that I live in now. Not only did I do ten laps at Gentry park, I ran for one hour and 2 minutes!!! Non stop!!! Over an hour!!! I can't believe that I can do that! It still hasn't really hit me that I ran for over an hour! I know now more that ever that I can do the half marathon with more training. It doesn't seem like that big of a monster anymore. Still a monster but one I can conquer with more training. Oh yeah, the ten laps I did equal 5.7 miles!!! Again, a number I haven't quite grasped yet. I will when I get to talk about it tomorrow with the people that I talk to about exercising at work. Insane to say the least. All because of a falling star I finished ten laps, 5.7 miles, one hour and two minutes of running. I plan on running again on Saturday but a shorter distance to save my legs for the hump on Sunday. Pretty awesome if I say so myself. Until next time...Peace be with you!!!

Day Twenty Three: Weight and Run

Well I weighed this morning and I weighed 197. 1 Pound less that last week so I'm still heading in the right direction at least. I thought I messed up this weekend but I didn't do to bad.

I went on a run today after work and I gotta tell ya, it was painful. I don't think my legs have fully recovered from the hike on Sunday. My right calf is hurt. I only did a little over 2 miles and I struggled to finish it. I was more or less limping my way back to my car. I hope it gets better soon because I don't like missing the goals I set out for myself. But I also realize if I push myself to far with an injury I could mess up everything and be sidelined for awhile. I would rather quit early and save my legs than go as far as I could and be really hurt. Better safe than sorry.

I still to this day get asked about how much weight I have lost and I still like getting compliments on how far I came. I know that might sound a little conceded but I think after working hard last year and dropping over 120 pounds I have earned the right to take in a little compliment every once in a while. Of course I do it humbly because I don't take what I did for granted. I know there are people out there who can't just get up and run. I know there are people out there who, because of some type of physical handicap or some health reason, that can't enjoy running like I do. So every mile I run I know that I am blessed that I can run whenever I want or wherever I want. So all the compliments I get I do like hearing them but at the same time I don't think I accomplished anything as great as some other people. I just did something that I needed to do to stay around for my daughter. When I don't get to finish how far I wanted to go, I know I can dust myself off and take it on again next time I run. No need to be down on myself. That's a quick way to stop doing what I'm doing is by putting myself down and feeling bad about not completing a run goal. I will get there. I haven't failed yet. Knock on wood.

Going on another run Thursday and Saturday, then another "hump" with my brother. He has a longer route picked out this time. I know I won't make the mistake of not stretching before hand. I am a firm believe of stretching before and after exercising, especially something as rigorous as hiking. All that extra weight on your back will wear out your leg muscles.

Until next time...Peace be with you!!!

Day Twenty-Two: Birthday and Hike

Time for an update. I have been keeping up with eating healthy except on my Birthday which was the 21st. I had a delicious cheeseburger in Miami OK at The Ku-Ku. Great burger. Then on Sunday we celebrated again and I had some pizza. It was also delicious. No harm in splurging.

Sunday morning I went on a hike with my brother in law. We put our packs on and weighted them down and started walking from my house towards the lake in Siloam. Once we got there we decided to walk around the lake and come back to my house on a different route. In total we walked right at 9 miles. I feel it today!! My legs are sore. I think I pulled my right calf muscle as well. It hurts more than it is sore. But no pain no gain huh? It was a good hike, definitely got my heart rate up carrying that weight up and down those hills. He said that he has other routes ready to hike on. Hopefully in the long run this will build up my leg muscles and help me run better. I didn't weigh this morning but I will in the morning and I will update again tomorrow night. I run tomorrow and I will let you know the outcome of that. I hope my calf is okay by tomorrow. Might have to take some tylenol before I run.

That was the first time I put on my pack since September 24th 2011. Pretty specific date huh? Well there is a reason for that. One of these days I will elaborate more on that date. Probably after I hike on March 3 2012. When I get back from that hike I will post a story for you to read that I wrote about that date. Not until then. But putting on my pack took me back to that day especially when I found his sunglasses in the same spot he put them. He didn't have a place to hook them so he hooked them on my pack and that is where they will stay.

Like I said, I will update again tomorrow night after my run. Until next time...Peace be with you!!!

Day Eighteen: Robbie's Hill and Music is life

Well I had a pretty good workout tonight. I ran our steps on our front porch. There are ten of them and I ran them ten times. After that I took off running from my house and did my normal 3 mile run. I exercised for about 36 minutes. It felt good to run. Let me tell you about Robbie's hill as I call it. I call it that because it is right by my friend Robbie's house. It belongs in the foothills of the Rockies. It is a slow incline up to the hill for about 200 yards. I would say about a 3% incline, not much but you feel it, then it raises about 50 foot in about 20 yards (exaggeration I think.) It is rough and its at the end of my 3 mile run so my legs are almost out of gas by that time with the other hills I run but I take everything I have and I conquer that stupid hill! I hate it but it feels good to reach the top! I skipped a day because of a family dinner last night. No big deal. But it felt good to get out there and clear my mind with a run. I find that running is as therapeutic as it is healthy. Out running its me and nature. Breathing and listening to the wind and birds. Just me and my thoughts. I think about a lot of things but mainly I try to make sense of all the stress that I let get to me. I'm not normal a very stressful person at all but I do at times let things get to me. But running lets me get all that out. All that stress leaves me in sweat and work. Of course there is another way that I find relief from the daily grind and stress and that is Music. Music has helped me during runs and bad times in my life. Its always been there for me. One of my favorite lyrics is "The 4 right chords can make me cry" and that's how much I love music. I can feel everything the musicians write about and the music they play. Besides music, running is now that relief from stress that I need and I love it. Again. But after running has ran its course with me. After my legs won't carry anymore miles. Years down the road when my body gives up on me. I will have my music. We all have to find that one thing that helps us with the stress of life, don't let it be smoking or drinking. Find something creative or that helps you as a person. Mine is music, find your's. Until next time...Peace be with you.

Day Fifteen: My Worst Enemy

Hello. Well I got a run in today and let me tell you about my worst enemy when I run. It's called wind and it was blowing hard today. Give me hills, give me rain, take away the wind! It's like running with someone pushing you in the other direction. Good workout believe me but it messes up my breathing and tires my legs out a lot quicker because I'm straining to push through it. But this weekend hopefully I will start doing something that will help me get some more leg strength and more endurance. My Brother in Law and I are going to start putting our packs on and load them up to about 30 pounds and walk some distances with them on. That should build up strength in my legs and allow me to run further and also quicker. So this thing called wind will not seem so hard to push through. But I got to give props to God for unleashing the wind today. It made me use "my personal talk" a lot more. I did 3 miles in 33 minutes plus change but it was a struggle when running straight into the wind. So thanks God for giving me a much better workout than me just running normal without wind, just next time, can we tone it down a little? 10 - 15 miles an hour is fine...gusts to 30? Not so much! And it seemed it picked up when I made the turn to run into it. It was all calm when it was at my back. That is my worst enemy but one of my biggest motivators to get through my run. I won't let the wind stop me. I will pick my head up and run straight into it and let it try to push me back but it won't as long as I am determined to finish. Reminds of a quote from one of my favorite movies: "No matter how much the wind howls, the mountain will not bow to it." You can figure out the movie on your own because you might make fun of me for it being one of my favorites. :) Until next time...

P.S. It's Monday and I weighed 198! 18 pounds left on this journey. I also downloaded the map for the Hogeye and elevation changes. It looks rough but I know I can do it. My friend at work said I should look into getting sponsored. Don't think I'm important enough to be sponsored but it was a good thought. Peace be with you!

Day Fourteen: 4 Miles and Running

Well I'm back blogging. I was trying to blog everyday but circumstances don't allow me to do so plus I don't want to blog on days when I don't really do anything important. But I have a few things to talk about today. First off, my wife is better! So life is back to normal for the time being. Of course life really isn't normal in my castle but we call it normal.

I have a friend at work that is trying to lose weight and get back into shape for softball. He had been doing really good before the holidays then he got a new job which required him to go to training. During this training it threw his rhythm out of whack and he fell off the boat as far as exercising. So he quit for a couple of months. Well he is back on it and talking to him keeps me going as well. He gives me advice all the time and I tell him my "secrets." I'm glad he is back on it because now I have him to motivate me when I get a chance to talk to him. He has kind of been there the entire time I was losing weight last year I guess I just never realized it. Listening to him struggle and break through his own personal walls made me realize that I'm not the only one in this world trying to get healthy and that I have someone to talk to when I need that little motivation to keep me going.

I was supposed to run Friday but my wife asked since it would be easier if I ran on Saturday instead. I told her yeah. Once I get off my routine I start to wonder if I should get back on it. It's so easy to quit. So Saturday came and we were cleaning the house I told my wife that I would run on Sunday, to "start fresh" since this past week I wasn't on my eating healthy routine since I was home three days of the week with her being sick. See, it's so easy to say "tomorrow." So easy to put off exercising one more day. That mindset is what makes people fail. That is the mindset I do not want ever. I may have to put off running one day but I know I have to pick it back up if I want to continue doing what I'm doing and reach my goal. "Tomorrow" will not fly with me unless it is absolutely imperative that I run the next day. Well I set my mind back on my goal and ran on Saturday and didn't push it back one more day. I went 4 miles at Gentry park in 43 minutes which is seven laps around the route I take. I had the intention of doing only six laps which is over 3 miles but I knew I could go further and I didn't want to go home knowing that I didn't leave it all on the track so after six laps I did the final lap to make it 4 miles! And whats crazy is with the pace I was at, I could have went more. I think I'm well on my way to that half marathon. This week, sickness pending, I will be back on the eating healthy regimen and I will run again on Monday and every other day after that. Hogeye here I come!!! Until next time.

Day Nine and Ten: Online and Still Sick

Well this is a two day update.
1/10 Day Nine: Found out today that I was on our company's message board called the Passport. I had sent in my new years resolution to them a few days ago. They had asked for resolutions from people and they would post a couple of them. I didn't think I would get posted but apparently I did. I got an email from a coworker in another casino and she said that I was an inspiration and wanted to know if I could sit down with her and talk about how I trained. She is part of a running group in Tulsa and wanted to see how I trained to see if anything could help her be a better runner. I don't mind helping people at all especially if anything I tell them will help them in anyway but I still don't see myself as an inspiration. I see myself more as a blueprint for others to look at and see that it can be done. Inspiring people lift people up and change their lives on a more personal level. So I am a blueprint and that is all. Eating is still going good. Healthy food in and energy out.

1/11 Day Ten: My wife is still sick. I didn't work today and won't tomorrow as well. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get her checked out. She is starting to eat slowly but still feels puny and her stomach is still hurting. Days like this are hard because I have a routine during the week of eating and me having to stay home goes against that routine but if it means taking care of my wife then my routine goes way back on the back burner. I still try to eat as healthy as I can but it's like how I have trouble on weekends. But on the plus, plus side, my daughter went down for a nap and I got to run today as planned! I went down to a place I haven't ran in a long time: Lazboy track and trail. I start at the Lazboy fields and head down the trail towards downtown Siloam. Once I get to Allen's office building I turn around and run back. After that I ran a lap and a half around Lazboy fields. It took me 37 minutes to do that and I went 3.3 miles. This way has a few little hills and I haven't got my legs back into good enough condition to take on hills as well as I would want to so this run took a little more out of me than running in Gentry park on level ground. But I like the change up, keeps things interesting and I still don't have to do monotonous laps around a track. The weather today was perfect as well. I know that I'm back into running because my week is judged by the weather and when I run. I love it. Well, until tomorrow.

Day Eight: "My Run"

Today was a good day but also a bad one as well. My wife is super sick so I had to leave work early and came home to take care of our daughter. She is just now getting up and around and trying to eat. It was a stomach bug. That was the bad part. The good part is I weighed 200 this morning so I'm going the right way down this road. I'm pretty excited about that but the best part is I had time to run today as my daughter was having a nap. My goal was to run 20 minutes, which is 2 minutes longer than I ran on Saturday. Not a lofty goal but a goal nonetheless. Well I got to the park, stretched like I normally would and started off. But unlike Saturday I decided to run a little slower pace and that was what I was doing wrong! I went for a little over 38 minutes! 18 minutes longer than my goal. After I got home I went on Google maps and tracked my route and I ran 3.5 miles! All I had to do was remember how to run. I know that sounds weird but I had to tell myself to run My Run. Not the speed run that I was trying to do but the pace run that I was used too. My Run. That's what I was forgetting to do. My pace was good, I was rolling from mid foot to toe. My posture was better, my breathing was controlled. It was My Run. My Run may not be the fastest and I may never win first at a 5k but I will finish and not quit. I will be there at the finish line feeling good about the time I put up because My Run got me there. Also, instead of running 6 laps around Gentry park, I ran 1 lap there then ran down towards the high school and back then did 2 more laps. I find that if I run for time rather than distance I can go further because I'm not doing monotonous laps around a track but I can go off track and make any road my route. I know when I get home I can use Google to track it to see how far I went. I generally know how long it takes me to do 3 miles so I can base my route on that statistic. Other than that it's a free run. That's why I love running, I can make up my own route instead of doing lap after lap around a track. Now I'm falling back in love with running and the feeling of accomplishment when I hit a certain time that I wanted to run. Now that I found My Run again it's time to build upon it. I know I  can do 3 miles so I will continue to run that and build my legs muscles and stamina up. I'm excited now. I don't have to scratch and crawl back to being able to do distances. I know I can now with My Run. Until tomorrow.

Day Seven: One week done

I'm using my phone to post this blog so it will be short and sweet. One week down now and I have, I think, got back into the groove. My eating has returned to healthy. Watching my portions again. Of course when I weigh in the morning we will see how I did this week. Hopefully I'm going in the right direction on this road. This weekend was pretty good. Took my daughter to chuck e cheese and I had some pizza. It was good but I didn't feel guilty because you have to eat stuff like that every once in a while it just has to be in moderation. One thing that I wanted in losing weight last year was to be around for my daughter as long as I can. I knew with what I weighed plus what I ate and how I ate that wouldn't happen. But now I can run around with her and not be tired like I would have been if I still weighed 323. Mind you she still tires me out but we can play as long as we want without me gasping for air or not having the energy to chase her around the house when she wanted me too. She is my inspiration. Well like I said short and sweet. I will weigh in the morning and let you know tomorrow night. I also run tomorrow and I'm going to see how far I can go. I can't wait until I can do three miles again and further. Until tomorrow.

Day Six: First Weekend

This is the first weekend of my Road to 180 and weekends tend to be harder than weekdays. During the week I have a routine as far as what I eat. I have cereal in the morning, salad at lunch, and whatever is on the menu for dinner. During the weekends I eat differently than during the week. Usually on the weekends I don't see any weight loss because I take in more calories than I do on the week days. It's not that I eat unhealthy, I just eat more than what I would at work. I weigh on Monday and I'm hoping I do good. I don't think I ever mentioned what I started at, weight wise, going into this challenge. The first Monday I weighed 205. Gained a little bit from the holidays but it was worth it. I ran a mile and a half today, half a mile more that I did the other day. I ran it in 18 minutes. One big thing that I use is a personal talk. A self motivating talk. Something that I tell myself to get me to go further and longer when my body wants to quit. It consists of quotes and personal messages. I had to use my self talk today and honestly I forgot how much it helps. Gives you that little more that you need to get through the run. I'm up to a mile and a half and I will continue to build up my legs and lungs and run further. I run again on Monday so I will see how far I can go then. Maybe this time my stupid shoe will stay tied. Until tomorrow.

Day Five: Normal Day

Nothing really new to report today. Still doing good on eating. Never have to worry about drinking unhealthy cause all I drink is water or Vitamin Water Zero. We are going back to Gentry park tomorrow so my wife can walk and I can run. Then every other day after tomorrow I will be running. A lot of people ask what my trick was to losing weight. Like losing weight is trick. I wish it was. It was hard work and dedication. Mentally and physically. It starts with a mind set to want to get healthy and then it takes the will to do it. That is it. Not really a trick, more of a lifestyle change. And I am willing to help people get started on that path if they will actually listen to what I have to say and take my advice and put it in their own mind that they can do it. That's what I did and am still doing. So to all of you who are following me and to those who read these updates, set a goal, set your mind and go for it. That's the trick! Until tomorrow, I will tell you how my run went.

Day Four: Run Harder

Day four went pretty good. Had my usual bowl of cereal and cappuccino, not mixed obviously. Lunch consisted of a salad and dinner was chicken taco's. But eating wasn't the main point of this day. I was talking to a coworker at lunch and he is big cyclist. He wants me to do 50 miles with him June but I don't know if I will or not. He always asks how the training is going. Well he asked today if me running in the evenings have been better since the weather has been warmer. I told him that I haven't really got a chance to run in the evening and that I usually run in the morning but since it's been cold I haven't been able to do that as well. He said it was time to buy the gear to run in the cold. I told him I have the gear but it still super cold in the mornings. He turned and looked at me and said "Run harder." Those simple words were, I think, what I needed to hear. Not just run harder in the mornings to get warm quicker, but run harder by getting back in shape and meeting my goals. So I will, my friend, I will "run harder." Although, it may not be in the cold ass mornings, but I will make time to "run harder." Thanks buddy. I talked to my wife and I am going to get back to running in the afternoons after work. That is what I did to hit my weight goal before and if it isn't broke don't fix it, right? I need to get back into my routine. My awesome running routine. I said it before but I need to fall back in love with running. Running just a mile the other day brought back that feeling of accomplishment that I have been lacking for a while now. Plus my brother Marvin is interested in starting WINGS with the Cherokee nation. They sponsor runs and pay for fees to certain races so that will give us another schedule of runs to do. That plus what we find on Arkansasrunner.com should keep us occupied with plenty of 5k's. I just have to start "running harder." Until tomorrow.

Day Three: Running and getting back into it

Today was pretty good. Went out for lunch at a very good Mexican restaurant called La Capilla. I had pastor tacos but this is like authentic Mexican food and its smaller portions already. All they put on top is cilantro and onions, no cheese so automatically they are better. Normally I would eat salad at lunch but I got invited so I went. I'm just happy I didn't over do it which is very easily done when eating out. After work my little family went to the park and I decided to see how my running is. I did a mile in 11:49. Not blistering speed but about normal for me. I can make it faster but since I will be training for a half marathon I don't want to train to be to much faster since I will have to pace myself for longer distance runs. I need to work on getting back into running shape though. My goal was just to get a mile back under my belt and I did it. I am reminded of a saying that goes: "If you don't use it, you will lose it." and that totally holds true with exercising. I was religiously running 3 miles every other day and could do it easily. But since I have not ran in what seems like a long time, about a month and a half, my legs don't have the same push in them and my lungs aren't up to par anymore. So I will begin to work on my Cardio again. It's the main thing that I used to work on and also the number 1 rule in Zombieland so I better keep it up! The only time really I have to run is during the morning but I go to work at 8 and I would have to get up around 6am to run and it's just so freaking cold that early in the morning. I have cold weather running gear but it doesn't help when its like 18 degrees with wind. It's hard to get my breathing down. I may need to use my lifesaver I had when I was running like crazy this past year and that would be my mother in law. She would watch my daughter for me while I would run. I might have to ask if she can do that again every other day for a little bit. At least until the mornings get warmer. Well I'm fixing to have some baked chicken and salad for dinner. Got to get my protein to rebuild the muscles I broke down from running. I had a Recover from Gatorade but a little more protein won't hurt. Plus my wife makes the best baked chicken! Until tomorrow.

Day Two: Eating healthier and challenged

Today was the start of eating healthier. Last night we had our last of the Holiday celebrations with the Godparents of our daughter. We exchanged gifts and went to a Chinese buffet. Felt like off of A Christmas Story!!! Wanted to hear them sing "Far Ra Ra Ra Raa!" Now that all of that is over it's time to get back into the habit of eating healthy. Need to start putting good food into my body for fuel before I start running again. I know what it's like to run with not so healthy food in you. It's not very fun and you don't perform as well as you should. My road to 180 was also challenged today. One of my coworkers said that I couldn't reach 180. That kind of got me more motivated because I don't like when people tell me I can't do something. Some said I couldn't quit smoking: did it. Some said I couldn't reach 200: did it. Now I'm being told I can't reach 180? Well that means I have to prove people wrong again. It's not going to be easy, I never said it was but it's definitely possible. Definitely reachable. So go ahead and doubt me. It's just more fuel for me succeed. But the highlight of the day was when another coworker said that I was an inspiration and that it was cool that I was documenting my new weight challenge. I don't really see myself as an inspiration. People who save lives like firefighters, military, or police are inspirations. People who are put into dire situations and come out better are inspirations. People with life threatening illness's who find the will to survive are inspirations. Not me. But I loved the compliment anyway. Day two is in the books. I plan to document my weight on the Monday of each of these posts to show where I'm at. Ready for to see what tomorrow brings. A little over three months before the half marathon.

Day One: A brief history and new beginnings

Hello, my name is Brandon as you might have figured out already. This is my blog for my road to 180 pounds, but first let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was pretty much your average guy. I work at a Casino and at the beginning of last year my boss decided to have a weight loss challenge. It was a new year and resolutions were being thrown around as usual so we decided to jump in and make one for ourselves. We wanted to see who could lose the most weight in January based on percentage of weight loss. We weighed in and I was 323 pounds. The most I have ever weighed. We went the entire month and at the end of the month I weighed 300!!! I hadn't started running yet, that was just from changing the way I ate and I completely dropped pop. Water only. After all that weight lost, I ended up losing the challenge! But that did not stop me. I wanted to see what exactly I could achieve if I dedicated my life to making myself healthier. Each month I saw more and more pounds drop. By the end of February I was at 280. During the month of February I had started running. Gradually I got to where I could run 1 mile which may not seem like a lot, but to a guy who used to weigh 323 running a mile was a big achievement. In March I stepped up my running because of a challenge made to me at work. One of my coworkers wanted to run a 5k at the end of April. So I started a training regiment of being able to get more distance in my runs. At the end of March I was consistently running over 2 miles and I weighed 267. April came and I ran, ran, ran. Towards the end of the month we had a lot of rain and messed up my training. I knew that I wouldn't be ready for the 5k but once the rain stopped I ran over 3 miles and I knew I was trained. I ran the 5k in 38 minutes and I weighed 255. After the 5k I decided to keep running the distances I was already used to and it helped to shed weight quick. At the end of May I was down to 244. June came and more running was in order. On June 30th I was 234. In the month of July I hit a major milestone. On the 28th of that month I weighed 220 pounds!!! 103 pounds lost!!! I treated myself to my favorite cheeseburger in Salina at Dairy Deal. I deserved it!!! I had to refocus for August and ran more miles. My end weight for that month was 210. Ten more pounds and I would hit my goal weight for the year. I planned on hitting 200 by the end of September but on the 24th of that month, my friend passed away while we were out hiking. Weight loss at that point was put on the back burner. It took me awhile to get motivated again so at the end of the month I weighed 207. At the beginning of October I made the decision that I was too close to my goal to quit. So I picked it back up and hit 200 on October 4th!!! 123 pounds gone!!! I celebrated again but noticed that I had this weird thing called a metabolism now and I found out that I burned more food off for energy now. So celebrating didn't effect me as much. I fluctuate between 197 to 200 pounds on any given day. Of course when the holidays came I went above 200 but nothing that I couldn't burn off. I ran another 5k in November and did it in 33 minutes. As the end of the year started to come I found myself asking what my goal would be for the next year. I quit smoking the previous year, 2011 was weight loss. Well 2012 will be a half marathon in April but I want to drop a few more pounds to be fully ready for it. This means more running, more eating right and no more splurging. So that is my story in a nutshell as they say. This blog will be a record of where I'm at, how I'm doing, feelings, and any other things I might see pertinent to my story. So here is to 2012 and to my Road to 180. Lets go!!! "Do or Do Not...There is no Try."

Before Picture: 12/24/2010 (323lbs)

After Picture: 12/25/2011 (200lbs)