Turkey Trot and Golf Thoughts

Big weekend for my sister! We ran the Turkey Trot 5k on Saturday morning. We finished right at 35 minutes which is her fastest 5k time. This course was easy and I kept telling her that. The course we normally run has more inclines which if she could run that over and over again, the Turkey Trot would be easy and that was my plan all along. Train her hard for an easy run. It was a good run though. Now we are looking for another 5k. She wants to get new running shoes first and break them in which is a good idea because she has worn her current ones out. That's what I had to do finally.

After the run we golfed. I admit, I was dreading golfing. Me, dread golfing? Ever since I lost my swing it has been so hard for me to get motivated to golf at all. My wife and daughter got me a gift certificate to Siloam City golf course and I haven't really used it because I lost my swing. I felt like Matt Damon on The Legend of Bagger Vance. It's so hard to find your swing again. Any golfer will tell you that. Something that you worked so hard on for so long and it no longer works? I didn't want to invest that much more time in trying to love the game again. But on the flipside, I do love golfing, just going out there and hitting a little white ball around for a couple of hours is very therapeutic. I don't care if I win or lose a round, I just get out there to have fun and try to beat myself because you can never beat the actual game of golf. It truly is a game that you can never beat, only play. So I got out there with a clear mind, completely forgetting my old swing all together and tried a few things out. Just to find that jump off point so I can refine it and make it a new swing for me. Well lo and behold, I found out a few things and my swing started working. There are a few kinks to work out of course but this is definitely a starting point and once I started hitting halfway decent shots again, I got the golfing bug. I remembered why I play golf. I remembered why I ever started playing in the first place. It's for those good shots, out of all the bad ones, the shots that you watch, the ones that go where you want them. It's those shots that keep me coming back, to try to replicate them tirelessly. I'm not ever going to go for a PGA tour card, I'm not going to ever say my game is better than anyone's but I can say that I will get better than my old self. That's the person you compete against in golf. Yourself. Just like life, if you can be better than you were, you are winning.

Well there is some inspiration for some of you in the form of golfing. It's crazy that this sport means that much to me but it does. I've had some very good memories on a golf course and some very good life lessons given to me on golf courses. I've made friends on golf courses and sadly life long opponents. I've cussed up a storm on golf courses and smiled from ear to ear on golf courses. And when she is old enough I will pass on what I have learned to my daughter, more than likely, on a golf course. It's nature, 18 holes, a little white ball, a metal stick, a flag on a green and yourself. Is there anything better?

A funny thing happened on the way to work out

So my wife, my sister and I were all geared up to run last night. We all met at my house, my wife's mom took our daughter so we could go work out. We got into the car and started on our way to the gym. On the way there we were talking about what we wanted to eat. We decided on La Hacienda and then started talking about what we were going to get there. We were all pretty hungry to say the least but we knew that we had to work out before we go eat. Then halfway there, my sister reminds us of something important that we had to do first! So I had to turn the car around, go back to the house and get some things.We took care of the business we had to do and started our way back to the gym. On the way there we decided that we would rather eat now since we just wasted time on going back to the house. So here we go into La Hacienda in our work out clothes which look amazingly not worked out in. We got our table and we ate. Afterwards we got ice cream. Needless to say, the gym was not graced by our presence last night. The only time we saw the gym was driving by it to go to Braum's for ice cream!

It was good to have a night like that every once in a while. Although it wasn't what we planned, it didn't, by any means, ruin my diet and plans to get to 180. I am at 194 this morning which is awesome! I should hopefully be at 193 by the the weekend. I am going to run tonight, take tomorrow off, 5k on Saturday morning, and then golfing afterwards so a pretty good weekend coming up. I would love to be below 193 on Monday but we will see. My biggest accomplishment is maintaining on the weekends.

I am so pumped about going to Florida this year. If you knew me you would know that I don't normally get excited about trips until the day we leave but for some reason this one is different. Maybe it's because I have worked so many hours the past couple of months that a week with just my family in another state without having to worry about IT stuff is just what the doctor ordered. I love my job, don't get me wrong at all, it's just when I jumped into this position it was right in the middle of expansion season and I had to put a lot of hours in away from my family. Everything should slow down by the new year. I don't know what I am going to do with myself with a normal work week! It could also be that I am going to run on the beach this year no matter what! It's still a dream to do that and I had my chance last year but it was so cold and windy. That doesn't matter this year. After this trip I will be able to check that goal off.

On a side note about our glorious trip to La Hacienda: my sister does not believe that I can still eat like a mad man! I tried to tell her that I still have the fat man inside me that wants to eat all the time, I just suppress him but if you give me food and tell me to eat as much as I want then it's game on! So her proposition to me is a pizza challenge. She doesn't think I can finish 2 large pizzas anymore. When I was bigger it would no thing for me and even now I don't think it will be a challenge. So when I get to 180 and start running just to maintain and not lose, she is going to put 2 large pizzas in front of me, give me a time limit and see if I can finish it. I say bring it on. I will unleash my inner competition eater and go to town. So this is "to be continued!" First things first, 180 and maintain.

Weekend Over, New Week Started

Well hello readers! The weekend has passed and it was a good one. Stayed at home this weekend, had a lot of family time and it was relaxing. I planned on at least maintaining what I had done this past week and I'm happy to say that I did. 196 this morning. My sister and I ran at the gym yesterday. We both did our 3 miles. I did mine in 28:17. The Turkey Trot run is this weekend and I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't ran a 5k in a while but that's not what makes this one special. This one my sister will also be running. She is afraid that she won't finish but believe me, she will. It's a whole lot different when you are running an event versus running by yourself. Running an event like the Turkey Trot pushes you even harder to finish. You see all these other people not stopping so immediately you don't want too. You will find it in yourself to keep going. It's crazy but that's how it works.

We have a little more training to do this week. Going to run hard the beginning of the week and rest a little at the end so she will have plenty in the gas tank for Saturday morning. We still have to register for the race as well so we will have to get that done sometime this week.

I can't believe that next Thursday is Thanksgiving. Time is flying by so fast now. We found our camcorder yesterday and started watching old videos of Krislynn and her first and second Christmas. I'm glad we found it because we have film her third Christmas this year. It's crazy to see myself in those videos with Krislynn in my arms. It makes me remember why I started all this in the first place. My sister says it looks like I'm wearing a fat suit in those videos! But to see my daughter go from the sweet baby girl that she was into the sweet big girl she is now makes me happy and proud. Everything I do now is for her and my wife. As long as both of them are happy and taken care of that's all that matters to me. Give me a break, it's the holiday months so I may sound a little sappy here but I am thankful for my little family. I don't need just one month to express that or put it into words on a social media outlet. I'm thankful everyday.

Well that is all for today. We will run tonight and some the rest of the week so I will keep you posted on our progress.

Good Run

Yesterday after work I finally had time to run with my sister. Her first 5k will hopefully be next Saturday at the Turkey Trot in Siloam Springs. I have been working with her for a couple of months now trying to get her back into good running shape. We have a route that we usually run that goes from La-Z-Boy fields and through downtown Siloam and back. It's a little over a mile on our normal route. Well yesterday I added just a little bit more just to see where she was at as far as distance running. We started off and it was a bit chilly outside and the sun was about an hour from setting. We did the reverse of the normal direction we would go. It's a little easier but still has inclines all through it. She did good and we were setting a pace of 12 minutes a mile. Not too bad for her and for her first 5k. I ran at her pace to keep her going which is what I do all the time unless I run by myself then I try to turn on the speed a little bit. I can get 9:45 a mile at a good pace. So her speed is a tad bit under what I'm used too but I know if I stick with her I can give her encouragement to keep going. No need to leave her behind. I told her on her first 5k, regardless of what time we finish it in, I will keep at her pace and not leave her. That way I know that she completed her first 5k without stopping. The next one after that may be a different story but at least I will know that she can go that distance.

So we got off Cheri Whitlock and started heading south on Mount Olive. This is the part where I thought she would need to stop. This is a gradual incline up to the Police Station. But at the top of the hill I looked back and she gave me the thumbs up signal so we kept going. We go down Broadway through downtown and I gotta tell ya, running through downtown Siloam is a great run. Especially now with the trees all different colors and the Christmas lights on, it's pretty nice. This was all downhill pretty much so I knew I didn't have to worry about my sister on this part or the rest of it for that matter. There was any real inclines just a few small hills on the La-Z-Boy trail back to the starting point. At this point we were at 11:45 a mile pace. We started talking about movies and while we were talking I heard my phone go off and it said that we had passed the 3 mile mark at a little over 35 minutes but I knew that my sister didn't hear that so I just let it go. Normally I tell her at each mile that pass. I wanted to see how much further she could go. We picked up the pace a little bit on the last quarter mile or so and when we finished I put my phone up to her ear so she could hear the distance. 3.50 miles in 40 minutes and 58 seconds. She was excited but then she asked if that was a 5k distance. I told her that a 5k is 3.1 miles. I told her we did 3 and a half miles! Way more that a 5k. If we had went a little over halfway around the track at the softball fields we would have reached 4 miles! She was stoked about it and said she could have went further but she didn't know how far we had gone yet. She said at only 1 point did she feel like she need a break but she pushed through it. Pretty cool if you ask me. I think she is almost ready. We will run this route again and again before the 5k just to make sure that she can go that distance consistently.

This just goes to show that some hard work and having someone there to help you along is a great way to accomplish goals. I have my wife and daughter there to help me along with my weight loss. My sister now has me there to help her along with her running. A little over a week and she will get the accomplishment of running and completing a 5k, barring any injuries or sickness. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she crosses that finish line. Now we just gotta register for this 5k! Hope I don't forget!!!

P.S. I am at 196 today. Cutting out snacks is helping a lot!

Long days make for Early nights

I had an entirely too long of a day yesterday. I didn't get out of my job until after 7pm last night after coming in a 4am that morning. I didn't have time to run with my sister but on the plus side she did run and she did a little over 3 miles which is awesome. I'm trying to get her ready for a 5k next weekend. I have been running with her for a while now and she is definitely getting better at controlling her breathing and pace.

All I did yesterday was work and then I went home, ate and fell asleep. I did watch what I ate though and I cut out snacking. Snacking is a problem with me. I may eat healthy snacks but I eat a lot of them so it kind of defeats the purpose. So I've decided to limit my snacks throughout the day. That should help also with me counting calories again. I just wish I could have ran yesterday. I plan on running today but that all depends on my schedule at work. Either way though, I think I will hit the gym if it's dark outside. If I have light then I will run outside.

I weighed 199 this morning, down from 203 yesterday. That seems to happen that way. When I have a bad weekend the weight I am on Monday and then the weight I am on Tuesday are usually drastically different. Usually on Monday's I run and play basketball so I expect to lose some weight but I didn't really do anything yesterday. I will take it though, not griping at all about it. I'm happy I'm back under 200. I don't like that weight. When I was really losing weight last year for my first leg of this challenge, I would see a benchmark weight such as 220 and I would tell myself "I don't ever want to see that weight again!" Well I told myself that when I hit 200 as well and I have seen it a few times since. So this morning I told myself that again. I never want to see that weight! Hopefully I will be able to say that to 190 soon.

Well that is all for today. If I run tonight I will tell you the distance and time. I want to get a good distance run in for sure at a good pace. Not setting any records anytime soon but I don't care. At least I'm out there doing what I love.

Step Back in order to Go Forward

I thought that this blog was done. I thought that maybe I had done what I wanted on this Road to 180. But reaching that goal and staying with that goal, I have found out, are two completely different things. Yeah I hit 180 but who cares? It doesn't matter if I don't commit myself to staying at that point. I didn't really try when I hit 180. I hit it and thought "Now What?" Now that I know that I could do it I thought that it would be fine to not worry about it any more and that was the thought that wrecked my accomplishment. 180 came and went. I gradually started going the opposite way. I still ran but running doesn't do anything if I don't do the other half of it. I started eating what I wanted again whenever I was just fine eating what I should. Anybody who has lost weight will tell you that it is hard to maintain a weight, but in all reality, I can't say that because I didn't give myself a chance. I seen 180 and I left it. I didn't work to see what I could do to stay around that weight. I told myself that I wanted to say between 180 and 183 at all times. That did not happen at all. Then I told myself that 190 was a good weight to keep. Again, I haven't seen 190 in a while.

Now, at 203, I have seen what I have worked so hard for start to disappear. I'm getting back into my old mindset of eating junk and not worrying about what it will effect. I think it's because when I hit 180 I had the thought of "Now What" instead of the thought of "Keep Going." Not keep going in the sense of keep losing weight but keep going in the sense of don't stop running, eating right, and trying to be as healthy as possible for my family. 180 is my goal, it has been for a while and it still is. I'm taking my 180 that I already hit and throwing it away. I am telling myself that I haven't been there yet. Because I haven't. I was only 180 for what seemed like a moment. I want to be 180 for a long, long time to come.

There are always obstacles in the road, it doesn't matter what goal you are trying to reach. Obstacles that want to veer you from you path, obstacles that want to knock you down, obstacles that make you want to quit just short of what you want. My obstacles are more mental than anything. I know I can run distance, I may not be fast but I can run for a while so the physical side isn't really my issue. My issue is I need to get back into my healthy mindset. My mindset of watching what I eat and only putting fuel in my body not junk. And when I hit 180, not IF but WHEN, I will have to alter my mindset just enough to maintain that weight. Instead of the goal of I want to hit 180 pounds, my new goal is I want to live a life at 180 pounds. That seems a bit more substantial than just getting to a number. Now it's keeping my weight at that number. I think that's what was missing. I had my goal skewed. I didn't think it out properly.

I can't help but thinking of the quote by Michaelangelo: The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. That's what I think of when I think of my goal before. It wasn't too high. I was never concerned I wouldn't hit it. I should have been more concerned about hitting it and not knowing what to do next. Well I know now. Here's to a healthy life, to not hitting just a number but living that number. A number that was pretty far out of reach when I started this challenge almost 2 years ago. A number that I will give myself a chance to stay at now. I think 180 would be a good weight to run a marathon at next year. I will get into that later.

So it's time to do this. 203 is my starting weight. Time to get back to hard work.