On2Victory

Mention being in your forties to most guys and you will get a number of responses, most of them bemoaning that things are not as they used to be or something about a downhill slide, just marking time hoping that things dont get worse. Health, it is a gift that cannot be bought at any price, just visit a place where people are recovering from heart attacks or any number of debilitating ailments. Fitness is another gift that cannot be purchased, it must be earned with consistant dedication. These two items, health and fitness go hand in hand. General health is not much good if are disease free but you cant climb stairs without passing out but fitness is impossible without health.

Today, I have both. This has been a long, hard fought battle and today was the big payoff. I went in for a physical and lab work just to see how I am doing. The bottom line, I was told that I am in fantastic health. This is what I got for my 41st birthday….

Health -
1) Blood Sugar 90
2) Triglycerides 76 - yup no kidding! WAS 198
3) Cholesterol 127 LDL 75 HDL 37 *needs a little improvement but WAS 22
4) Weight Loss 96 lbs

Fitness -
1) Can cycle 30 miles, no prob.
2) Ran 10 Mile long run 14min per mile pace
3) Ran 3 10K runs in one week, average 13 min pace

The Doctor was singing my praises, all done without surgery or drugs. Fitness is of no value if my numbers are not good. Whats the point of getting a finishers medal? So they can toss it in my casket?

Yup, I had a good birthday. I will OWN my forties!

 Knocked out another 10K. this time I took it to the trail and it was fantastic. basically all the great things about running and mountian biking all rolled into one challenging workout. in spite of the hills and terrain issues, i still managed to bang out a 14 min mile pace over 6.2 miles. Woo Hoo!

My race schedule is a 10K race in Sault St Marie Sept 25th and the Great Turtle Half Marathon Oct 23rd.  I am absolutely ready for the half. It is really a matter of what my finishing time is going to be, not if I can make it.  That is a looooong way from gasping going up a flight of stairs.  My trainer put me through the grinder a few days ago, I almost wanted to cry. we were doing lunges with a pair of 25 lb progressing up to a pair of 35 lb dumbbells.  adding 70 lbs of weight made for a hard workout but it also reminded me of what life was like 93 lbs ago.  Such a challenging workout really paid off in the trail run, my legs were much stonger and able to take the hills much easier. It also served as a reminder of where I came from and where I never want to venture again.

 Did a 10.32 mile run in 2.5 hrs at a pace of 14 min 33 sec /mile! The best part about it is that being properly hydrated during the run, using Shot-Blocks for electrolytes and proper pre-run warm up and stretching ment that I wasnt at all sore after the run. No cramps, no muscle soreness, I just went about my daily routine after the run. What a fantastic improvement in my fitness since the beginning of the year.  I havent lost much as far as the scale goes but I have shrunk in inches and the fitness results are obvious. Even for being a larger guy, those are some impressive stats and that is one big reason I dont obsess about the scale. I focus on what I can do, not on what the scale did or did not say. I know the losses will come. It is impossible to train like that and not drop something but i am not worried. I know i will be at the 100 lb loss mark by race time. how sweet it is going to be to pick up my Half Marathon finishers medal when 2 years ago, I couldn’t climb stairs without shortness of breath and feeling like I was going to drop dead.

Oh Yeah   OOOOOO RAH! 

Been really busy, especially lately. Work has been a nightmare. We are down in our shop to almost 50% of our original manning, with 5 crews this is not good.I will probably be getting jerked off my crew and put on yet another schedule change. It has been challenging to train for the upcoming Half Marathon when I cant hardly get a consistant night sleep but we will make it.

I was also recently made leader of the Half Marathon Sparkteam on Sparkpeople.com

http://teams.sparkpeople.com/halfmarathon

This has really been alot of fun, to interact with other runners and to get tips from those that are far more experienced than myself.

I am anticipating testing for my personal trainer certification toward the end of the year if all goes well.  Im not quitting my job but rather, this is an outlet for what I feel is more important than a paycheck. i really enjoy working with people and making a difference. When im gone, no one will remember that I was a decent electrician but I will never be forgotten for the impact I will have on someone else be it good or ill.

If I can continue to drop enough weight, i want to run marathon hopefully before things get too bad in my knee - I think i have early arthritic degeneration. not bad now but I must lose more and correct pronation issues to keep things from going too far down hill.

I want to be the guy that loses 150 lbs and finishes the marathon. some things are just worth doing. If not this, then what? hang out in the backyard, grilling, hanging out with the guys, never reaching, never achieving, never living?

If I make it to 240 i am signing up for the Chicago Marathon, that is a promise. 

Just a quick note that things are really going good in spite of job situations etc….. have had some incredible workouts. Went to a sculpt class today and the instructor that usually teaches it is no longer doing it due to other constraints. What I got was a girl that usually does the cardio jam, kickboxing and so on. As soon as I saw her, I knew i was in for it. If there is a way to squeeze a few more calories burned out of a workout, she will find it. In short, she is a real firecracker ( in a good way).

For all those who would relish the thought of me getting my A$$ kicked by this 5 foot stick of dynamite, here is your chance. I sweated at least a gallon and was ready for a body bag when I was through, but I loved it. I love an awesome workout and I love to be challenged.

Today, after a long plateau, I have finally seen some movement. I am thankful that the concepts I have learned over the last two years encourage the big picture, not just the number on the scale. Without that and the encouragement I get from my friends here, I may not have reached my current weight. I am a pretty busy guy and work shift work on top of that so I don’t get around to my friends like I would like but YOU ARE ALWAYS THERE FOR ME!

Thank you so much. So far my current results are I was 385, now 292. Was a size 52, now a 40. Couldn’t climb a set of stairs without getting dizzy, now run 5 miles 2X per week and am training for a half marathon.

The best part of all of this is what I see around me, larger people like me having hope. Most people really do want to live a healthy lifestyle but after seeing so many people YO-YO, do really well then crash, most lurk in the shadows and just watch to see if you are really going to do it. After a while they start making comments, then they start making changes themselves and they make sure they tell you the next time they see you. I never thought that I would have a positive impact on people but it looks like I am. Everytime I encourage someone, I get a little myself and the strength to move forward.

Just a quick note to my buddies, I am finally on the upswing and doing great. had another great run today - 5 miles and I shaved 4 minutes off of my pace. I am so used to running this trail that I dont realize how far I go which is another reason why I allowed my self to overtrain and ultimately, injured. it doesnt sink in that I ran 10 miles but if I calculate it out, between Sunday and Tuesday, I have run a 10k and a 5k then did almost 3/4 of a mile for giggles, THEN it gets into perspective- gee, I should take a rest day and work on cross training. When I got hurt, in 2 runs, I had run almost the equivalent of a marathon.  Then was in a 5K race the following week. NO WONDER - DUH! Thats what happens when you mix too much of a good thing with a dash of male ego and stir well. Even those who are way more conditioned than I am take quite a bit of time after a marathon to recover.

 Well anyway, I know I am going to have a loss in the next week or so, i can sense it. its kinda weird but I can usually tell when a loss is going to happen.

Cheers!

 It has been over a month since I have been able to go for a run. All of the stress of the current home buying situation and the fact that I have been living in perpetual jet lag from shift work has not helped my efforts. I finally was able to get a good nights rest and hit the ground running and for the first time in quite a while, felt good. Usually a certain amount of de-training sets in if you have not been working out for a while but it was nowhere near what I was expecting.

I managed to push out 5 miles without alot of strain although the pace needs improvement but who cares. according to my HRM and my Nike + running monitor, I torched about 1200 cals give or take. after an outstanding day of keeping in touch with my eating this really puts the burn in motion. It was a very cleansing experience. i almost forgot how running washes away my stress and helps me to deal with my stresses and not eat them. it is a good feeling that I do not have to start completely over in training for this upcoming half marathon. 

Here is a great pic I found on Sparkpeople.com

As if things couldnt get more challenging, this whole house deal has wiped me out financially, literally within a few hundred from total wipeout. I had to tell my trainer that there will be no more sessions until further notice. I have to recover financially. I know how to lose weight and how to work out but having her on my side has been a real help. I lost 50 lbs on my own before I even considered a trainer BUT when it comes to helping me stick with it when things get really tough, there is nothing like the support a good trainer can give.

With that said, there comes a time when you have to lock n load. either you want it or you will piss around with it and make excuses and in the end- where it REALLY matters, did you lose it or not? It’s great to have someone to lean on but in the end, this is my journey, either I am packin’ the gear or I’m just another person with a list of reasons why they cannot do it.

It has been especially hard lately due to increased work demands, having my work schedule messed with and my plans pulled out from under me. It is pointless to go on about what those issues are. It is a tough situation, but somewhere, someone has it tougher and it making the cut, even as we speak.  Sports are for sissies because they only need to use one ball to make a goal, in weight loss, you need to use BOTH or you will fail.

As most of my buddies know, I work in an iron mine as an electrician. I saw a clip on the local news website when I got home from night shift and it shows a little of the area. Nothing major but just in case you are curious…

http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=473055

gotta hit the rack, it was a ROUGH night in the pit.