10K, Check!

Just another step on the path. A couple of weeks ago Cami and I competed in the Herriman 5K/10K/Half Marathon put on by Operation 61 and I finished my first 10K!!!

The race itself was through some beautiful neighborhoods in Herriman and was really enjoyable. We started running in the morning and it was freezing!!! I knew that my body would warm up as I ran, but I didn't realize it would take me about a mile and a half to get there. Once my body did warm up though I had a great time. Cami finished her second 5K and had a better time than her first. Right now instead of increasing distance, her goal is to keep running 5K’s and improving her times.

So on to the next goal. I am going to compete in the St. George Half Marathon on January 18^th. I think it will be a nice break to escape to the moderate climate of St. George in the heart of winter, and it will keep me honest to my goals instead of getting lazy and hibernating for the winter. I read on a website that I should only run outside when it is 25 degrees or warmer without special equipment. Since I don’t have money to spend on special equipment, I will have to move my running inside soon. Luckily since Cami & I are both students we can work out on campus for free which is awesome.

My half marathon training schedule is much more rigorous than my previous ones. Hopefully I can keep it up over the next few months.

Cami will be competing on Dec 7^th in Provo in a Santa Run 5K. As a part of her race fee she gets a full Santa outfit to run in, which she is very excited for. If anyone is interested in running either race with us let me know! Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!!!

My liver!!!

 I am sad to report that my liver has betrayed me. All of my life I thought because I didn't drink and occasionally ate good things that we were friends. But it seems to hate me getting into shape because around 2.5 miles into every run it starts tugging on my diaphragm causing the muscles to spasm and making me feel like somebody stabbed me right below my rib.

 Anyways, that overly dramatic representation is how I feel about my stupid side splits. I did some research online and found out that there are two ligaments that connect your liver to your diaphragm, and when all of the bouncing happens that stress from the weight of the liver causes cramping. According to the internet the best prevention is to learn how to breathe better, by filling the lower lungs and taking full breathes. Hopefully that works because these things are killing me. (Learn more by clicking on my liver picture)

 Other than that my runs have been going pretty well. Saturday I was upset to start my run because I missed my phone's cue telling me to start. I realized that starting a run frustrated really effects my ability to run well. Luckily I cooled off pretty quick and was back in business.

 Speaking of phones, I guess I should give a shout-out for my running app. It is called Runkeeper and it is really good. It uses GPS tracking to tell me how far/fast I have gone and keeps a record of all of my runs.

  So the only other thing that I find worth noting here is that there is this old lady that crosses my path most mornings. I am impressed because by the time I'm in my 80's I don't know if I will have the will to go outside, let alone walk a couple miles at 6 am.

 And that is all I have for this week. I will be registering for the Operation61 10K pretty soon and the invitation still stands for anyone that would like to join my wife and I for that race, they have a half marathon, 10K, & 5K. Just let me know. Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!

I Need New Shoes!?!?

So this week seems like it has taken a long time to pass. I wonder what it is about some weeks that fly by in an instant and some drag on forever. It seems like some mornings especially I just DO NOT WANT to run. The bed is comfy, the pillow is soft, and everything outside the blanket must be -20 degrees. I have decided though that barring real illness, I can't miss or reschedule a workout. I noticed when I was lifting weights for high school football, that once I made an excuse to miss a workout, it was so much easier the next time. I need to set and keep my standards pretty high as to what is a valid excuse, and when I just need to tell myself to stop being lazy.

I was surprised to see that the running shoes I bought probably over a year ago just started wearing out over the last month. I guess that is what happens when they actually get used. My 10K training schedule already has me running about 12 miles a week, and this is the first week!!! My body is feeling more and more healthy every day, and I don't really crave the fast food like I used to, even though we still eat it sometimes for time reasons. I'm excited to have one week down in preparation for my 10K but will soon be running the longest distances I think I have ever actually run, check it out. (Click on the image to go to the web site where I found the schedule, they also have training schedules for all different distances and abilities)

So today was an exciting day, for the first time I stepped on the scale and was in the 240's!!!! I actually weighed myself twice to make sure it wasn't a glitch before I silently celebrated trying not to wake our son. It feels good to see that my body is enjoying being taken care of.

My runs this week were really good. I pushed myself hard to improve my times on Monday and Wednesday, but today I took it a little easier and that was reflected in my time. It didn't help that there must have been a sewer backup or something because my run STUNK!!!

I have noticed that my back has not been bothering me as much lately. I think it has to do with me warming up my back muscles and getting blood flowing in the mornings. Hills still suck, even minor ones can have my crying for mercy. My breathing is much smoother and calm during my runs, at the end of my runs I'm not so winded that I can't speak.  :)

That is about it for this week. I am going to try to post some sort of update every week on this blog. If it gets too monotonous or boring I will back off, but I really appreciate the feeling of accountability that this blog gives me. Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!

Day 1! Again

So I have decided that it is easier to think of each race training as it's own individual section instead of focus on the big picture. It is a lot easier to tell myself that I only have 53 more days till my 10 K than it is to tell myself only about 1095 days of training left. So I am starting all over again with my training at Day 1.

Today's run was good, it was three miles and I did it under 30 minutes. Started off slow because within the first 100 yards I realized that there was a rock in my shoe. I honestly debated just dealing with it but in hindsight that would have been absolutely miserable, glad it was taken care of early :).

As a part of training for my 10K, my wife and I have found a smaller 5K early September that we will do as a part of our training. It is called Apple Days and it is a local race to celebrate apple harvest and should be a nice relaxing race. After the race it says that we get to celebrate with apple pie and ice cream, you know... so we can gain back all of those calories real fast. :)

I am really getting excited about the 10K in October. Our first race was an event that was just for fun, but I am really enjoying the idea that my 10K is a race that has a cause. Operation61 is a charitable organization that is involved in trying to end human trafficking, especially of minors. They operate a safe home in San Diego where people who have been rescued can find protection, and they also are trying to do a lot of awareness events to garner public support. Check them out by clicking on the picture because I believe they are a really good cause.

If anybody in the Utah area wants to run the race with me let me know. It is October 5th in Herriman Utah (south side of SLC), and I will be running the 10K and my wife will be running the 5K. It should be a blast and it feels better paying the entry fee knowing that we are helping a good cause.

In good news I have officially lost 20 pounds so far on this journey. That puts me at 252!!!!! Only about 50 more pounds to go before I get to what I think is about my healthy weight. I guess a lot of hard training and eating better actually works, who'd-a-thunk it?

The First Step

Every journey must start with an initial movement, and while this accomplishment might not mean anything to serious runners, I finished my first 5K!!!! Okay, so i ran one in middle school, but I'm not going to count anything before puberty :)

The race itself was a ton of fun. The people who put it together had a bunch of volunteers all along the course with water guns and 5 gallon buckets to keep things cool for this race during the dog days of August. And did it ever work. I almost didn't even notice the distance. And at the end we got to jump off a dock into the lake.

One of the greatest things about running is that I can already tell it is bringing people closer. I got to run this race with my beautiful wife. We ran side by side the whole time and it was a wonderful experience. We also got to run the race with our friends Aaron & Jamie. What wonderful people I have surrounded myself with.

While in the world of endurance sports I am the awkward toddler trying to take their first step, It feels good to know that I have accomplished my first mini-goal. Napoleon Hill said that, "Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything." I am starting to catch the fire and I am loving it.

The Goal

As a young kid my step-dad was very involved in the sport of triathlon. I remember as an 8 and 9 year old watching old VHS tapes of the Kona Ironman as we heard the inspiring story of people in their 80's, cancer survivors, and many others, and we cheered as they crawled across the finish line in the dark moments before the race was over.

While as a young child I showed a propensity for endurance sports, often posting top times for races in my middle school and even winning a 1 mile kids run, My interests led me elsewhere for athleticism. My first true sport was football. To this day I can plop down in front of a TV on a Saturday morning during college football season and only get up to grab more food until it is after dark, and be completely happy.

The problem with football though is that it is a young mans game. Okay, so I'm only 25. But still there aren't adult football leagues like you find for baseball, soccer, or basketball. It is just too physical to play forever. And so as football left my life it was filled with.... er... well that is why I started this project at just over 270 pounds. As an avid fan of athletics and for the last 7 years a lapse participator I decided that my time on the sideline needed to officially be over.

Periodically over the years since I was a young child watching people suffer through the Kona Ironman, I would catch a glimpse of the Kona coverage and the dream of accomplishing something so extreme, so out of the ordinary, so above and beyond would briefly return to my mind. That dream has returned again recently, but this time I am going to do something about it. That is where my journey starts, as I switch my role in life from "eternal someday-er" to being a "doer".

Well this summer, I take my first steps. Starting in July of 2013 I have officially begun my journey to become an Ironman. Whatever things I accomplish in this life, will only be due to the goals I set and the wonderful people who support me. Thoreau once said that, "what you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." And so this race, this distant illusion of a finish line, is so much more than about running a race. I have a beautiful wife who supports me and a handsome one year old son that will cheer me on. I do not expect this to be easy, I don't expect it to be fun or even enjoyable at times, but when I am finished I know that the act of finishing, the result of training, and the choice of continuing when my body wants so badly to quit, will make me a better husband, a stronger father, and more of a man than I was before.

And so the goal. I will, within three years (actually about 3 years and 2 months because of when the races are) become an Ironman. I will cross the finish line with my hands held high. The road from here to there is sure to be fraught with discouragement, injury, disappointment, excitement, achievement and victory. I will take it slow, focusing on one goal at a time, the first of which is to finish a 5K race early in August, but I will always keep my mind focused on the end, reaching for the taste of glory that is, an Ironman.