Well so far so good...keeping up the running 3 days a week and then other forms of cardio when I want a break from the running. Feeling tight and sore but I'm beating it down with Aleve, Glucosamine and other magic pills. Also plenty of water and vitamins are helping a lot as well. I'm trying to eat 50% clean aside from cutting out soda which is working out fairly well. Yesterday we had deli sandwiches catered which was great, today we had greasy pizza. Not too great. So during my lunch break I actually ran to the grocery store and bought some semi healthy stuff to snack on at work. Man what I wouldn't pay to get a mini fridge installed here at work. I spend enough time here sometimes that I think I should rate one!!

About a month ago I bought a new camera. I digital rebel EOS 10.1 MP monster!! It's have more buttons and gadgets than I'm honestly comfortable with, but I did want to start taking photos again and decided to stop whining and start doing. I'm hoping to get out this weekend and try and take some photos and see how they come out. I'm eyeing macro and wide angle lenses but my wallet is whispering that I need to ease up...ease up. So i'm listening. Darn it.

More fun...

Well I'm at work today and unbeknownst to me (but apparently knownst to others) about half of the staff is in a training session for three days and my fellow heathens get to pick up the slack. Good times.

Also I'm down 5 lbs to about 215. Obviously I want to look at other measurements for the real improvements, but overall I needed a good baseline for initial encouragement and that helps to keep me motivated.

In other news I'm going out on a second date with a girl I met this weekend. Probably something simple like dinner at one of the crazy chain restaurants. She's nice and seems to have a great sense of humor. She also runs and seems to really enjoy my sense of humor which is important. More information as details warrant of course :)

Also...Carol appears to be in trouble with our little bet on the first day :)

Another update...the trifecta baby

Well everyone I've updated three times now so I think the bitching will finally end :)

Went to the second week of my couch to 5k program today and I'm sore but in the good way. My 1.5mile times last week topped out at 29:45 and today it topped out at 29:00 flat so that's always a nice improvement. My left achilles is off and on so I'm keeping an eye on that and trying to keep myself from overpacing during the run portion. Jen asked if I had tried the podcast and I'm debating. I'm more worried about the style of music throwing my pace off which tends to happen to me if I'm listening to something with a faster beat than then treadmill is moving lol.

Carol you're on!! April 27th is your pain day baby!!

Thanks for the comments I'll be back to your blogs as soon as I can.

Damn Tarheels.

Back to the Couch to 5k

So I'm back on the couch to 5k plan with lessons learned about the past few times I've attempted it:

1. Start off on the treadmill if you're a first timer or REALLY out of shape!!

Why? Because there are too many road hazards, concrete is hard on my joints, and the spring and summer months are hot.

2. Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate!!

Why? Because my body needs to replenish what is loses. I purchased one of those camel back bags that you can wear around your waist with a tube that clips to your shirt. You may think it's dorky, but when you're dragging and dying looking cool I'll be dorky looking but hydrated and still going :) Still though, most treadmills have a slot for water bottles so I bring one, preferrably two bottles and hydrate. I've learned this lesson well and it's helped me get more of of the program so far in the first two weeks.

3. PACING YOURSELF!!

I have the trouble the when I start running I'll begin slow and before I know it I'm running WAY to fast. Not good because it's not a sprint right now!! The treadmill is helping me even my pace. Even just a nice brisk slow jog does the trick of getting you body to move beyond just normal walking. Overall paying attention to the pace has helped me immensely in keeping my strenght and stamina up of the 30 minutes or so that I'm on the treadmill and the 20 minutes of actual training during that time.

Today I finished my program with a 20 minute run walk pace of about 17:57 seconds per mile. It's not blazing but you know what? I did it!! 8 minutes of running and 12 minutes of walking. To be honest any pace under 1 hour for a 5k at this moment I'm happy with. What this also tell me, that if I can just keep up this pace of 8/12 running walking over 5 kilometers then hey...didn't I just do a 5k? Mental attitude is everything. Once you get over the little goals then you shoot for the bigs one. My goal right now is to be running for 25 minutes straight around May 7th. Not running crazy...but just being able to run for that long without stopping to take a breath or walk!!

Allrighty folks I'm off to meet a friend for lunch and then maybe have a few games of pool and bowling.

And remember...cheer for those North Carolina Tarheels :)



Why? Because when I run and you might

I'm back but no promises...mmm kay?

Allright folks I decided to try and start updating the blog again. I suppose the reason I stopped is that I didn't have anything blog worthy to report. I don't mean excercise worthy...I just mean I didn't have ANYTHING to talk about!!

Well I don't know if I have much more to talk about but I have gotten back into working out again after I tipped the scales at 220 lbs. Those of you that followed my BFL progress last year know that I worked my way all the way down to about 179 lbs by January of 2006. Since then I've steadily fallen off the wagon, eaten poorly and overall just stopped taking care of my body.

I'm not doing any major program or fad, my goal is to eventually get back down under 190 lbs and to stay active. I just miss seeing my toes to be honest and summertime is NO time to be caught outside looking like a pregnant man. So I've been doing some light cardio on the dreadmill and trying to watch what I eat. Completely cut out the sodas again so that should help...A LOT since they seem to be the main reason I got back up to my horrifingly large self again. So I don't have any plan, I don't have any diet, I'm not doing anything but looking at myself in the mirror and just making little goals for myself on the treadmill and in the gym to get myself back to breathing normally, looking heathy and feeling better. For all of you that sent my comments in my absence I thank you for them and I'm going to try and try and get back in touch with you more to thank you personally.

As for myblends.com I may or may not go back. It's not that I don't appreciate the site or what's going on there...it's more that I'm not sure I have anything to add at this time in terms of motivation or well wishes. I'm sort of up and down emotionally myself about the weight and I suppose I'm worried about getting in over my head, posting a lot and then quitting my workouts. Right now I'm trying to do what's best and realistic for me. For those of you that might try to push me a little harder, just remember I did something like this before my original BFL challenege last year. Just sort of did a general workout and diet to get back into some sembelance of shape and then eventually started BFL. Maybe I'll get bored and want a bigger challenge. Maybe I'll start the Couch to 5k program again, or maybe I'll just be happy with what I do. Overall I'm just trying to stay positive and keep sane.

Hope everyone is doing well and like I said I'll try to keep posting more often.