1 mile

One mile. That will be my training ground for the next month or so. In my quest to do a 5k this summer, I figure I'd better start with covering 1 mile first, then move on to 2 and 3 miles as I go. Ok, so when I walk at 3.5 miles an hour, I can cover a mile in a little over 17 minutes. As I've said before, I want to be able to jog and do it quicker. Today, I warmed up on the bike for 10 minutes, then I hopped on the treadmill. I set the program for 'distance' = 1 mile. It was then up to me to set the variable speed I would go at. In the end, it would tell me how long it took to cover that 1 mile. Watching my progress tick by in 1/100 mile increments, I decided I could jog at 4.5 mph for 0.1 miles at a time. So, I'd jog for 0.1 miles, and then walk for 0.1 miles. Back and forth. In the end I finished the mile in 15 minutes 10 seconds. Not bad for my first time trial. Hopefully, I can increase the amount of time I'm jogging, and get to the point where I can jog that whole mile. Gees, I have not done that since high school. It might kill me! :-)

Oh, and I need to stretch better before I begin. My hammies were a little tight when I was done.

Mind Games

I did not want to go to the gym today. I was tired, and I had done a bunch of 'cheat' eating over the weekend. I knew today's weigh in would not be stellar. To be honest, I didn't even think I was going to drop any weight, let alone 2.5 lbs. I guess some things are still going right for me.

The gym has got to be a habit for me. If I miss more than 1 day, my determination to go really starts to fade. The last time I went was last Wednesday. I was out of sync last night. I had to forcibly remember to get my gym bag ready for the next day, and I knew I had a lot going on today, so I didn't want to really go to the gym. But I went anyway. It was tough, but I got there. And I FELT GREAT! Its just getting there.

So, I'm a pound off my pace. 8 week contest, with a goal to lose 41 lbs, which means I need to lose about 5 lbs a week. That means I should be 25 lbs down this week, but I'm only 24 lbs. Oh well, I'm eating better today, maybe I can make up some ground this week.

Monday Weigh-In

Here are today's numbers:

Current Weight: 381 lbs.
Current Body Fat: 38.8%

Total Weight Lost: 24 lbs.
Total Body Fat Lost: 1.3%

Tired Today

Decided to skip the gym this morning. I've been working double shifts the past few days, plus working out really hard at the gym. That extra hour of sleep this morning really felt good. After a high calorie Fat Tuesday, I was good with my eating yesterday, kept it under 2500 calories. I know that 2500 sounds like a lot, but it seems to be working. I should be able to keep on track today too.
But this is how I roll. As long as the weight is coming off, I am very motivated to eat right and exercise. My biggest fear is when I hit a plateau. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Short Term Goals

I wish that I could keep up this rate of weight loss forever. I'd reach my ultimate goal in no time. For now I will take what I can get, but I do realize that it will slow down. Eventually, I will have to stop losing lean body mass and body fat, and pretty much stick to losing fat only.

I've been thinking about some near term goals.

1) Current weight loss contest at work. It is an 8 week contest. There are 13 participants, all at various levels of fitness. The winner of the contest is the person that loses the most weight by %, and the most body fat by %. Add those two numbers together, and the highest score wins. This means that, being the heaviest person in the contest, I have to lose more body weight just to keep up with the smaller folks (did I mention I'm 6' 4"?). OK, so I know its crazy, but I think I can drop 10% of my original 405 in just 8 weeks. Yes, that is a loss of 41 lbs! So, the goal is, on March 19th, Final weigh in, be at 364, and 37% body fat (which would be a 3.1% body fat loss).

2) I want to run a 5K. First let me state, I detest running/jogging. Walking is ok, but me and jogging have never gotten along. But, I can't help but notice, at the gym, and elsewhere, that serious runners are some of the most lean people in the world. I can't even jog a 1/4 mile right now with out getting my heart rate way into orbit, and my knees don't care for the pounding they take in this activity. So, I've got to give it some time, and work into it. Its only 3.1 miles. I want to be ready to go by July 4th. I'm hoping that I can be down to somewhere around 330 by that point. My local town does a little 5K early in the morning on the 4th of July. I plan to enter. Now I can walk a mile in about 18 minutes, which means I could walk the thing in an hour. But the point is to go faster. Initially, I'm thinking 45 minutes. I know, thats a snails pace, but may be a jog/walk thingy. We'll see. As I train with this as a goal, I can refine my goal as I go.

Visualize the best YOU you can be.

Monday weigh in - (on Tuesday)

Current Weight: 383.5 lbs
Current Body Fat: 39%

Total Weight Lost: 21.5 lbs
Total Body Fat Lost: 1.1%

Ultimate Goal

Here it is in writing. By June 1, 2008 I want to be 220 lbs, and 15% body fat.
My reward: A cruise with my wife. I've always wanted to go on one ~ now it is my motivation.
Hence the name of this BLOG: Going the Distance. I've got to lose 185 lbs and 25% body fat to reach this goal. I put it out there about 18 months because I know it will take a while. Its like a long, long journey ~ which starts with a few steps in the right direction. The weight is falling off right now, but soon it will be only 1-2 lbs per week, so time is needed.
I CAN DO IT!