A New Year, New Racing Schedule and New Challenges

So who is tired of hearing about the fad diets, the newest weight loss pill, the newest workout craze or even how you can get off the couch and run a 5K in just 30 days?  Well, I must admit, this time of year is to the health industry as red meat is too a pack of hungry, rabid wolves.  I watch television and see all the ads and infomercials about these weight loss pills and the newest piece of equipment that "takes inches off your waste in just two weeks."  Well, I am 100% percent sure that for a lot of overweight people in this world, those things are just window dressing for the real truth.  The real truth is what everyone already knows.  It takes hard work, guts, sweat, humility, sacrifice and even sometimes, a little pain to get to a certain weight loss or nutrition goal.  Sure these other things may help your body in some way, but other than surgery, nothing has shown to have a more lasting effect than exercising and eating right.  I am not just talking from my own experiences, but this also comes from people that I meet that had their own weight loss issues and there is usually one constant among them all - HARD WORK!  

People get so frustrated when the weight doesn't just fall off like it seems on other people, but we have got to remember that our weight gains did not just happen in two weeks, it took time to add the weight on and it will more than likely take at least TWICE as long to get off.  I also talk to people who are so frustrated that they haven't lost one single pound after two or three weeks of eating well and starting to incorporate exercise.  Well, I state and ask, so you haven't lost weight YET, but besides that, "how do you FEEL?" After three weeks, we may be so focused on the weight loss that we forget that we may not have that indigestion anymore or we sleep more sound and wake up more refreshed.  We may not notice that we have a little more "pep in our step" and more energy throughout the day.  Those changes are the ones that we need to focus on rather than the weight.  

Also, one thing we focus on is the exercise or the eating right part, but we forget that to get completely healthy, we must incorporate both.  I will admit it, I have spent the last two months gaining some weight.  Why? Was it because I stopped exercising? Nope, I slowed down a little, but didn't stop.  Was it because I started eating chocolates, ice cream, pizza and fast food? Nope, I stayed with a fairly clean diet.  Well, how did I gain that weight?  I gained it because I forgot one BIG rule.  I forgot that when I am not in full training mode, I don't need to eat like I am in full training mode.  But that is exactly what I did, even though my training didn't stop, but decreased, I still kept eating like I was in full training.  I didn't realize that even though the food was pretty healthy, I didn't need to eat that much to stay nourished.  I know reading this you probably say that I should know that and it is common sense.  But then I also ask that if it is common sense that exercise and healthy eating is the quickest way to a better "you," then why did I weigh so much two years ago?  It's because I became numb, lazy and stopped noticing the signs of my problems.  That may not be the reason or case for anyone reading this, but for me, I admit, that is and was the reason for my weight gain and my original morbidly obese weight.  I  became so HUGE because I chose NOT to "see" it. I was also shown these past couple of months that I am still not immune to weight gain or the problem of "not seeing it."  It's apparently something I have to learn and work on in the future or else it wont be 15 pounds of weight that I add, but more like 50, 60 or even a 100 lbs.

Fortunately, I have very limited time to stay in a "minimal" lethargic state as I have to get ready to train for a marathon at the end of April 2013.  This leads me to my other point of keeping the weight off, it's about keeping yourself accountable.  Scheduling a race or some sort of event months in advance will help you maintain your weight better.  Especially if you are as "cheap" as I am, you will not want to waste money on a race because you didn't "train" for it.  It's as simple as that.  Schedule a race that is manageable within a time frame after a certain "break" period and that will get you back in the gym, pushing away form the brownies and striving to do your best.

So anyway, I stated that I would put up my tentative race calendar in this post so here it is in all its glory:

April 20th - Heart and Sole Triathlon - Sprint Distance

April 28th - Kentucky Derby Full Marathon

June 2nd - Southern Indiana Triathlon - Olympic Distance

July 4th - Bluegrass 10K

August 11th - REV 3 Triathlon Wisconsin Dells - Half Iron Distance

October 18-19th - Bourbon Chase 200-mile Team Relay

December 7th - Tecumseh Trail Full Marathon

I am starting to try to focus on longer distance, endurance races to prepare myself for a Full Ironman in 2014.

Anyway, that's my schedule as it stands for now. If anyone has any suggestions on other good races, please feel free to let me know. I would love to hear about any other experiences in weight loss, races, injuries, etc. Again, I am by no means an expert at anything, just one person trying to share my experiences, both good and bad, with whoever takes the time to read these silly little blog posts   If it helps anyone, then I am extremely happy.  If anyone would care to share any of their experiences or stories, let me know so I can listen and learn.

It may sound like this post has a little frustrating tone to it, but that is because I am somewhat frustrated with myself.  I worked VERY hard for two years and then I stop paying attention? Well, it doesn't and didn't sit well with me, so I want to explain my missteps and/or mistakes in this blog to hopefully help someone else not make the same error. 

So now, I am off to lose the weight that I put on and guess how I am going to start doing it? Yep you guessed it ~ by running...

A New Year and a New You ~ Right?

It has been over a month since my last posting.  I doubt anyone follows my blog close enough for that to even matter but I thought I would post something related to, yep you guessed it, the New Year!!! Why do we wait until the end of the previous year or the very beginning to look at how we need to change our lives or the way we go about each day?  Why don't we do that on March 8th, or May 15th, or October 5th or some other random date? What is so special about waiting until the end of the year to figure out what we need to change in and about our lives and then try to apply it to the beginning of the next? Is it because we eat a lot during the holidays, feel bad about it and decide to lose weight? Is it because we have had some time off and a chance to reflect on the past year and determine the things that need to be changed? Why do we do it? I admit, I do it just like the rest of the world does it; I was just curious as to why?

At the end of this year, I actually took some time off from training and exercising and decided that I needed to spend some time with my family and shore up a lot of things at work rather than off somewhere doing some off-season trail run, swimming endless laps, or biking endless hours in spinning class. I must admit that it was nice and I enjoyed the time off, but guess what? I told my family that I would be starting to up my training again as the New Year approached. Well, here it is the New Year and I have kept to my word; I have started increasing the running and swimming, not so much with the biking just yet, but that will be ramping up soon too. I actually gained some weight which was expected, but because I didn't gorge myself this Holiday and stayed smart and really focused on trying to eat good foods, I actually maintained quite well. To me, losing ten pounds or so is so much easier after losing the large amount from before.  Ten pounds is manageable and even justifiable with my eating habits (clean eating or not).  The thing that doesn't let me worry is that I still love exercising, and I know that ten pounds is not the most overwhelming weight loss challenge I have ever attempted and as long as I don't let it get anything more than that.

Now to get back to the New Year's Resolution thing.  Yes, I put together a list of races and other goals that I want to accomplish in 2013 (I will add that list to the next posting this month).  I even cleaned up my office (only a little), did some organizing of old papers at the house, donated some old stuff to Goodwill and even bought a new 8-pack of underwear (really going all out in 2013!)

So, in a sense, we always try to find a way to start fresh, to start new, and the New Year always seems like a perfect time to do this.  We even do it during the week. For example, we usually organize our schedules from Monday-Sunday or maybe Sunday-Saturday, but almost never Wednesday-Tuesday.  Why is that? I think we have to have a designated beginning and end for something to feel absolutely complete. If we start back to work on a Monday, maybe that is the right start of the week, just like when we start a New Year, that is the time to start fresh.

Heck, I even started my weight loss journey as a New Year's Resolution so, two years later, I am still doing the same thing, starting off fresh at the New Year, trying to figure out what I need to do to become a better husband, dad, son, friend and colleague. I am simply doing what a lot of people do at the beginning of each year, trying to figure out how in the world to become a better person for those around us and ourselves. So, to close out 2012, I will say goodbye to last year, I've learned a lot, both good and bad (like when swimming in the nasty, disease and bacteria laden Ohio River, try to keep your mouth closed when turning your head upstream ~ ya think?)

Anyway, here is to a great 2013!  I hope everyone reaches their goals, challenges and dreams this year! You   have to start somewhere right?

Starting 2013 off right, by running, just running...