My Progress Report

I have made progress, whether you can tell or not. When I started on my trek I weighed a whopping 254 pounds. As of this morning, I was exactly 240. Yes ladies and gentlemen, look at those pictures closer and you will see 14 pounds less of me in the black skivvies.




I give the majority of the credit to my work outs because I have not been holding to a strict diet. I have cut back on what I eat, and I eat WAY less junk food; but I could benefit from holding to a stricter diet. That is my next step in this process.

Triathlon update: I think between now and the race I'll get strong enough in the swim to be able to complete it. It won't be pretty, but I will finish the entire race. Yesterday I was able to swim 24 laps. That was 8 more than any other day. Tomorrow morning I'm actually going to swim in the dark. I'm kind of intimidated by the thought of swimming in the dark. People that swim in the dark are SERIOUS about their swimming, and I'm not those people. But Dixie has been doing it and I can't let her have all the fun.

So, ba dee, ba dee, ba dee, That's All Folks!

Panick Sets In!

After a few weeks of running and cycling I was starting to feel pretty good about my odds of finishing my first triathlon. Not only did I think I'd finish it, I was beginning to have illusions of gandeur and thought I might finish close to Dixie.

HA! I laugh in my own face. Today was a day of reckoning and a serious WAKE UP call!

I finally broke down and bought some new swimming goggles. I went to the YMCA this morning and dedicated myself to the swim portion of the triathlon. HOLY CRAP! I suck. Let me say that the swim portion of our triathlon is only 400 meters. That is 16 laps in a competition pool. Also I should point out that my new goggles were lovely and didn't leak at all. Now, on with the story.

When I got into the pool I noticed two "heavier" girls swimming laps. They kept a steady pace and seemed to be on a chain as they went back and forth in their lane. I figured that if they could do it, so could I, NO PROBLEM. Ha, I laugh in my face again. My goal was to swim 16 laps, and maybe more if I was feeling good. I finished 4 laps before I had to stop and gulp as much air as I could to keep my brain from shutting off due to a lack of oxygen. 4 laps, are you kidding me? I did this three more times before I called it quits for the day. So, technically I finished 400 meters, but there were frequent and lengthy waits inbetween sets. This is no way to complete a triathlon.

Even though today was a RUDE awakening, it showed me that I still have a LONG way to go before I'm really ready for this triathlon. It also showed me where to put my focus for the next month. I will try and get my swim in EVERY morning and then do an alternating run and bike in the evenings. I refuse to be that guy that stands in the corner catching his breath, or gets scooped up off the bottom of the pool when everyone else is finished with the race. I have one month to get my lungs and muscles in decent enough shape to finish this "SPRINT" triathlon strongly.

Progress

Sometimes progress seems slow and unnoticed. But then there are times where progress is rapid and shows itself very clearly.

I was looking through some pictures of my last trip to China and Hong Kong. I was heavier then as you can see by the picture above. Since working out and focusing on my diet I have made progress. I had to give us Sumo Wrestling because I just didn't have the weight to push around anymore. Instead I've replaced it with training for a triathlon with my little sister Dixie.

Today she publicly stated that she is going to kick my trash in the race. (Probably right, but we aren't going to let her believe that.) We have always been a competitive family. No matter what the situation we always seem to compete. To me that is great! Even though Dixie is in better shape than me, I will do everything I can to beat her in this triathlon. I am confident that my cycling is stronger than hers, but her run and swim are WAY better than mine. So, I may have to run her into a few parked cars early in the race, and flatten her tires to make this competitive.

At the end of the day, all of this competition and trash talk is fun because it keeps me focused on my goal of true physical and mental health. I appreciate Dixie's motivation she provides and look forward to completing my first triathlon with her.

I Live

So it's been a while since I've written. That's what happens when you are traveling all the time and working 15 hour days. Somethings got to give...and this was it. However, I am pleased to say that I have continued to work out nearly daily.

I worked out yesterday inspite of a very sore back. It kept me up much of the night. When I woke up I didn't think I could do much of a work out, but figured I could at least ride the bike. So, I went to the gym. I saw Dixie running her guts out and promptly gave her the bird because she could run and I couldn't. After stretching for a second less than an etirnity I mosied over to the bikes.

I rode 13 miles. It sucked. Dixie came by and wished me well and then she was off. Admittedly, the ride itself was not horrible. I need to pick up my pace a bit, but 13 miles didn't kill me. It wasn't until I was trying to get off the bike that the real problem came to light. My back had been stuck in that bent over position for 44 minutes and with the preceding soreness, it didn't want to let me stand up. I kid you not, it took me over a minute to ease up into a standing position.

Needless to say, I didn't go to the gym this morning. In lieu of that I stretched my back a number of times today. It is starting to loosen up and feel a little better, but I am not going to push it just yet. Tommorrow may be another long bike ride.

I'm hoping to start the swimming by Thursday. That is far and away my most weak portion and most intimidating portion. Fortunately it's in a pool, so they can fish me out after I drown.

Renewal

After 2.5 weeks of dedicated effort and careful dieting I slipped. I had about 4 days where I just didn't eat well and I worked out little or none. It's amazing how quickly things can slip if you are not careful. I got a bit complacent and poof, I was on the lazy train to no where.

So, I took this new day and grabbed it by the horns and decided to have a Renewal of my plans, goals and journey. I hadn't slipped too far, but it was enough. I struggled to get out of bed this morning, but I did it. It was hard to run 2.5 miles, but knowing that Dixie was doing it gave me the extra push I needed. And, the biggest motivator is knowing that I already paid for the triathlon in late November.

Renewal has begun and the path is clear.

They Come in Threes; So Am I Good?

They say bad things or disasters come in clusters of three. I remember hearing that when I was a kid and three airplanes had crashed in a 1-2 month period. I remember hearing that when tornado's hit towns in OK one right after another till three successive tornadoes had torn apart the region. I was reminded about that again last night by Jody.

Driving home from a dinner party at our friends in Carefree, AZ we had a blow out. We were heading South on the 51, in the far inside lane, when I felt and heard the thud thud thud of a flat tire. By the time I pissed of 3 drivers by cutting in front of them to get off the freeway my tire had shredded and pulled away from the rim. I could hear the grinding of the metal hitting asphalt and it made me cringe to think of the damage it was doing to my rims.

I didn't even have to look at the tire to know it was toast. I immediately went for the high quality jack that was sold with the truck. I got the jack placed under the truck after a bit of work and began jacking up the truck to get the darn tire fixed. While trying to jack up the truck Jody reminded me that bad things happen in series of three. Over the past 2 months we have had 3 tires blow between her Jeep and my truck. That is three more blown or flat tires than either of us had in the preceding 10 years. It must be so; bad things happen in threes.

So, to wrap this saga up I'll tell you the rest of the story. (I'm sorry, I don't have Andy Rooney's ability to story tell as well.) The lovely, "Strong" jack that came with my F-150 truck broke. We could not get it to jack up the truck, thereby rendering us useless and stuck on the side of the freeway. We debated calling AAA until we realized that we don't have the service. We debated calling a tow truck, but the idea of spending $150 to have some dude named Claude come do $5 worth of work wasn't sitting well with me. So, we called some other friends that live close and asked if they had a decent jack. Providence smiled down upon us as they not only had a jack, but offered to come rescue our sorry butts.

After a brief, but lovely wait on the side of the freeway our friends showed up, jacked up our truck and helped us change the tire. Firstly, we're grateful for friends that would come save us at 10:30pm, and second we're grateful for working jacks.

So, what did I learn from this ordeal. 1. Buy AAA, it's worth it even if you only use it once in 5 years. 2. Don't put off getting new tires when you see your tires wearing out. 3. After the second bad thing happens get ready...they come in threes.

It's ON!

The triathlon is on. I am going to do it. I have not figured out how I'm going to do it, but I'm doing it.

This morning when I went to the gym I figured I'd have some mental solitude amongst a crowd of people. I get that way when I am listening to my Ipod and working out. That wasn't to be the case.

I had just finished stretching when I saw this tight bodied lady stretching on the treadmill. Fortunately I recognized who it was before I let my mind wander. I walked over and got onto the treadmill beside Dixie and got her attention. It was just what I needed to get enthused about doing this triathlon.

We ran together (2 miles) until I couldn't stand the fun any longer. Dixie continued another 1.5 miles after I quit her. I went over and did my best Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation and pumped up my arms and shoulders. I worked in sit ups and leg lifts for a solid work out. When I was finished it looked like I had swam a mile, while Dixie looked fresh and at ease. It's not fair.

When I came home I told Jody about the chance meeting and work out with Dixie. I told her that I felt pretty confident on the bike part of the triathlon, but the swim and run part have me nervous. I told her my goal was to keep up with Dixie for the 2 mile run because I think I can hang with her on the bike, but KNOW that even if I was a mile ahead of her after those two legs, I'd still loose because she is a mermaid. Funny thing is, I don't know who I'm kidding thinking that I'll be able to keep up with Dixie for more than 100 yards. She'll probably be putting her bike away when I'm finishing the run.

So, Day one of the triathlon training has been completed and my feet hurt.