Hiatus/First 5K

Hey everyone, yes it has been quite sometime since I've last posted. I didn't think anyone was really reading this so I didn't really feel obligated to type anything, I figured my ideas and thoughts were fine in my head and that's where they'd stay. Until a friend from work said

"you're not blogging anymore?"

"huh?" I replied somewhat confused

"your fat running blog, you're not blogging anymore?"

"you're reading it?!?"

"yea!"

"oh...hmm....I guess I'll have to post again, Thanks Brandon!"

He's a good guy and always makes me laugh when I'm having a crummy day at work.

Well, to catch up I have run 2 5K races and will be training for a third. Two jobs, school, moving, and family have all taken up most of my time which is another factor as to why I have been slacking in the blog posting department. Some time has finally been carved out and sitting in front of the keyboard is once again a possibility.

The first 5K was called Jet to Jetty located in Manhattan Beach. What a great view since it was along the coast! Very flat course and a great turnout. At the time I didn't think it was a flat course, but that was until I ran my second 5K which I'll tell you about in the next blog. There were two water stations and I learned that I need to practice drinking while running...actually while walking, I couldn't get the water down!!! Strange experience, not being able to swallow water.

After the race I hugged and kissed my wife, which she later admitted to me that she was so proud of me that she nearly teared up. Her telling me that nearly teared me up. She is the greatest cheerleader I could have ever asked for. The other runners were amazing too. Such considerate, amiable people. Everyone had a smile and no one hesitated to greet one another. When you go running in a race like this you truly are running with your closest friends. These people know what you've been through; the training and sacrifices, the early morning runs and the sweaty returns from lunch breaks.

I met a nice fella named Mark. Around 50 years old. We toed the line together and began chatting it up before the start. He was with his wife and daughter. "I can totally beat this guy" I thought to myself "He's gonna be eating my dust" I thought "He's going DOWN"....I thought.

I thought.

4......3.......2......1.....HOONNNKK

Off we went. Mark and I paced together for a while still talking. He told me to go on if he was holding me back or if I felt strong enough to go faster. psh. Of course I felt stronger to go faster. So I went faster. Then just fast. Then slower. Then slow.

Going out too fast is common. That's what I hear at least. I truly did feel strong to go out that pace and there was no problem.

Mile 1 - 8:17

Alright, that's the fastest I've run a mile....post high school that is. Mark was way behind me. This was awesome, I felt great. I couldn't believe that I was running a 5K! This large mass of skin and bone and organs (and fat of course) was actually doing it! 40 pounds lighter than the first day of 2009.

Mile 2 - 17:30 (or some time close to that)

Oh man, this is starting to hurt a little bit. However I know pain can go away, and it did. Kept on moving. I wonder if Mark is still going?

Mile 2.7

"Hey Dan!"

....wha?...

"oh" I responded to the voice "How's it going Mark?"

Mile 3.1 - 26:42

I placed 127th out of 444 runners. 95th out of 197 male runners and 12th out of 21 runners in my age division. My bib number was 492.

Mark unknowingly taught me the importance and value of pacing yourself. My average pace was about 8:35 and his was 8:33.


Mark's time?



26: 40

First 5K run!

It's finally official! I have registered myself for the Jet to Jetty 5K run. This August 22 will be my initiation into the road racing world and I am very nervous! I don't really know why I am so nervous. There were a few times when I thought about not registering and just running a 5K distance around my neighborhood. Mostly to save money on the gas to get there and the registration fee. But the experience of running this with other athletes and getting myself out there is priceless. I will always remember this 5K and 8.22.09 will always be a milestone date for me.

My goal will be to run it within 30 minutes which I feel very confident that I can. I'd like to get it done in 25 minutes but I'm still working with the C25K program. The main goal of that program is just to get out there and get moving. I feel that I have accomplished the main point of this program and I feel that I can move forward with my running abilities. Still cautious however but very ambitious.

As an update on my own well being I have lost 35 pounds since the beginning of this year. I am around 238 pounds and was around 275 when 2009 began. Truly this is an amazing feeling and one I enjoy boasting about. I know I know it's rude to boast but c'mon. 35 pounds! Hopefully I don't come off as a jerk, I simply want to point out that it IS possible and that a fat lazy couch slob can get his wide load out there and get it done. While talking with my sister she told me it was hard to find the motivation and time to get out there. This is true until you find your true motivation. Once that is found it's easy to get back to fitness. It is a long and arduous road but one that is completely worthwhile. I am also dealing with a nasty ingrown toenail on my right foot. The doctor said I can postpone the surgery until after the 5K run. Did I make a blog about this last time? I can't remember. There is also a 10K run that'll be in December which I hope to run but I'm not sure how the training schedule will be with my toe thing. It's going to put me on the bench for 3 to 4 weeks, according to the doctor. This of course means I'll take a week and a half off and then get back out there. Cross training will be apart of this downtime to keep my cardiovascular up to par. Do any of you have programs that prepares for a 10K run? I'm also hoping to run another 5K before the 10K run and making that apart of my training. We'll see what happens.

I'll keep you posted and if there's any advice out there or suggestions please let me know. I love hearing from everyone here and let me know what you're doing. Take care of yourselves and I'll talk to you later. Stay strong and run hard!

Running Out of Time

Howdy everyone. It has been quite sometime since my last blog and I have a great excu....er...I mean reason of course. I'd never give you an excuse, only reasons around here.

What is the number one 'reason' why people don't run or exercise?


"I have no time" "I'm too busy"

Personally I think everyone can find time or make time to go out and run a little bit or do some form of physical activity. There are the occasional exceptions though and I think the last two weeks I expierienced that exception.

I'm busy. Very busy. Too busy. I work a full time job driving a bobtail truck Monday to Friday and get off at 4. Then I mozy on over to the golden arches to jockey the registers there while flippin the fries until midnight or sometimes 1 in the morning. Repeat. Oh yea, I then attempt to wake up at 5 to run around my neighborhood half asleep, which is how I go through most of my days. My lunch hour is not taken up by eating, it's a nap time for me. Sound busy? I'm not done yet. I'm also currently pursuing my bachelor's degree in marketing. So I can start a marketing company to market fitness and running, this blog is really just an attempt to plant the seed in you to eventually buy products that I'll be selling sometime. Just kidding. Pretty busy huh? Oh wait, how could I forget, I'm also raising a mini human being commonly known as a toddler. Yes sir! That kid has so much freakin energy that we should really figure out a way to harness childrens' energy to solve our energy crisis. Imagine what we'd accomplish. Hey! There's a thought!

What if we could solve the energy crisis AND the obesity crisis at the same time? I say we connect a whole lot of treadmills and make everyone run for a certain amount of time to generate the electricity! Pounds would shed and the electric bill would be considerely lower. In the word of that thick Irish beer commercial; BRILLIANT!

Anywho, as I was saying. I literally ran out of minutes the last two weeks with both jobs and searching for another job so I can work one good paying job instead of two cruddy paying jobs. Plus to make matters more fun for me, my computer poops out on my and gets a virus. Don't trust facebook! Right now my computer is in the computer hospital and is undergoing surgery. I am using a loaner as of this moment.

Last blog I mentioned smoothies and what I like to do. Well, that's going to be postponed due to all this computer mayhem. I will get that done though as soon as my computer recovers and my kitchen is clean again.

Due to all this lacking of time I really had to adjust my couch to 5K program to fit. Basically I didn't run that week since I needed to get as much sleep as I possibly could. I figured my duties would be too difficult to do if I was constantly falling asleep and unable to focus. My job performance worsen and I couldn't keep up. I learned a very valuable lesson this week, probably an obvious one. 65 hours of work in one week with averaging only 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night is too much for me. Too much for a lot of people.

I've been able to get back into the groove of my running program and I'm still doing good. Tomorrow morning I plan on running for 27 minutes, walk for one, and then run out the last 2 minutes. My first 5K is still coming up on the 22nd and I am very excited about it. Plus I feel confident that I can do it. Two months ago I would have laughed at the idea of running 3.1 miles. I didn't even want to drive that! Now I can run it and feel good afterwards....and by good I mean completely exhausted and on the verge of passing out.

Thanks for keeping up with me and more posts shall be coming. Sorry that it took a while to get this one up and sorry if this particular post comes out rough. I will have the next post a little more thought out and organized. I'll see you all next time and keep on pushing.




A little thanks goes to my buddy Harvey for sending me a 'musical' CD to help me running. Harvey it sounds awesome and I love it. I'll put it on my iPod soon and see what it feels like to have a drill sargeant yell/sing to me as I run, I'm sure my pace will improve dramatically.

Thanks for the great conversation to my sister Stephanie. We talked for probably 2 and a half hours about everything and anything. It was truly a highlight in my day. My prayers still go out to Penny and her family and I hope you find your motivation for getting out there.

Almost missed a day

I've decided to do some cross training so I can get fit quicker. As of today I am halfway through my couch to five K program. Now I am able to run for 14 minutes without stopping which means I can run for an entire mile and not tire out. Or boink as the commercials say. On the days of 'rest' from running I've decided to put in Taebo workouts. Have you heard of this? Billy Banks? It's pretty intense and definitely gets you sweating. You feel great afterwards but without proper warmup you'll feel it tomorrow. Which was the case with me today.

I did the 'core express' video from the Taebo 'Amped' series. Only 31 minutes of intense workout that includes some kicks, pushups, and other various cardio and core excersices. But when I woke up today to go on my run at 5 AM I simply couldn't move. OUCH! My back was sore and my legs couldn't move. My wife yelled at me, "GET UP! YOU HAVE TO RUN!"

'...uh..' I barely squeezed out of my mouth '...i'll go later tonight...uuuhhh...'

I finally got my dead and tight body up and made some breakfast and got in the shower, I was barely able to move without some pain. "Today is going to suck" I thought as I got dressed and ready for my somewhat physical job. (I drive a bobtail truck and pick up will calls and deliver pallets worth of products to customers all over Southern California) Contemplating all day if I should go run or not kept going through my head. "I'll just wait and see how I feel"

I really wanted to get some type of running in...badly! But I didn't want to injure myself. Finally after some rest and a nap when I got home I laced up and figured I'll see how I feel after I do some stretching.

"ok" I thought "This is hurting"

But I started feeling looser after stretching (go figure right!) and went for a walk with the wife and child. Once we got to the park I felt much better and ended up running a little over a mile. I was even pacing myself, which was only 12.5 minutes per mile. I only wanted to get moving; didn't want to set any PRs. It got a little too late to stay out so my wife waved me down and said we should go home. I had ran for only 18 minutes but it was getting late. So we began walking home.

Cross training did take a bit out of me but I think I'll continue with it. Do any of you out there cross train? If so what do you do? I'd love to hear from any one who reads this. Even if it's only my wife or sister. Thanks for reading and I will chat with you all next time. Maybe next time I'll talk about smoothies and what I put in them. You may not want to be eating or drinking anything when I tell you the ingredients to my smoothies. heh heh.

Adios and keep on runnin'!

Breaks, and breaking 3 miles!

My running shoes mean a lot to me. They're even educated! It's true, they're Dr. Scholl's. While running this song came on my iPod (yes, I have this song on my iPod...I have over 7000 songs that my uncle has collected on his computer for quite a while, this is 22 days worth of music! insane!) and I thought to myself that this must be what my shoes think after a run.

When will I see you again. Will I have to wait forever.

Sometimes I get too busy with work and family priorities it does feel like forever since I've last ran. I've had to adjust my workout schedule a bit to work with the fourth of July and other happenings that'd prevent me from pounding the pavement. Thus far I have been able to do every workout assigned. Yesterday I was supposed to run but I didn't get to. I decided to do that run today and I just finished that run 10 minutes ago. Stress has been creeping its way back into my life and running didn't seem like a good idea. Simply wasn't up to it, didn't want to, sitting on the couch looked better.

Wait, that's the LAST place I should be. With my shoes singing and finally laced back on my feet I went out to run the run I was supposed to do yesterday. Running is amazing, I feel better. Who wants to spend thousands of dollars on a therapist (or is that a psychologist? I always forget, maybe a social worker?) when you can destress with a good workout. I can't believe it actually works either. I never in a million years would have thought that running around the block would help out, but I guess stress is in your sweat.

The last time I ran was on Monday the fifth. There was a historical moment that took place that early morning. I broke 3 miles! oh yea baby! This 5-K business is in the bag homie! I think it was 3.064 miles. I'm sure that was only three steps past the 3 mile mark but breaking 3 miles is breaking 3 miles. My confidence has really shot through the roof as well as my resolve to lose this burger weight.

I heard my blog shouted out on Steve Runner's podcast. Thank you Steve and THANK YOU to everyone reading this and my new followers (I like to tell my wife I have followers. I ask her if she has followers. She's a saint for putting up with me.) Lacy, Shawn, Barry, and anyone else I may have missed you guys freaking rule! Who would have guessed anyone would have read this little thing? Let alone come back to it! Other than myself when I proofread it, and by proofread I mean hit the spell check button.

Now I feel that I must continue to type and also that I must run since the support is not lacking at all. 'Must' isn't a good word since that invokes that 'I have to', but I know I can stop typing anytime but I truly enjoy sharing my story with whoever will listen. I myself have never been much of a blog reader, which is why I figured no one would read this. I will surely have to check out some of those blogs out there. Thanks again to everyone reading this, you don't know how much it means to me to know that folks out there are cheering me on. When I'm running or when I don't feel like running, I remember the comments here and that's motivation to keep me moving.

Also, I weighed myself just after today's run. Remember that around February this year I was something like 265 - 270. My weight is 242.8 and dropping! BMI is 31.1 and getting closer to the 'overweight' category and out of the 'obese' level. That's about another 10 lbs to lose and I'll be only 'overweight'. Why is there 'normal' and THEN 'overweight'? Why can't there be a middle section? We fat people have feelings too ya know! it could go like this:

anemic
skinny
lean
normal
pleasantly plump
husky
big boned
well fed
overweight
obese
morbid obese
whale
owner of own gravitational pull

I think this new system will really improve BMI's PR. What say you?

The Power of Running

There is a LOT of power behind running and this minor blog entry will not be able to encompass all that. However, let me tell you of some of what I have experienced in the past three weeks of the couch to 5-K program I have adapted.

1. I do feel more energized after a run. Not only do I feel a sense of pride of seeing how far I run (typically 2.5 to 2.7 miles) but also how much energy I'll have throughout the day. This I have mentioned before.

2. Feeling like I have a purpose. I have a goal. I know I am going towards it and that keeps me motivated to keep running. Actually I have several goals. (complete an IronMan triathlon, do a marathon, get to my target weight of 175 pounds) But I have given myself a deadline.August 22nd is a 5-K in Santa Monica, CA. I'm still on the fence since I don't know what my schedule will be like and I don't know if money will be too tight to register. I do want to be fit enough for a 5-K by August 22nd. Plus I'm losing weight! I REALLY AM!!! I weighed myself today and I was 245!!! HOLY COW!!! I've been consistently in the 240's. Usually I've been plagued with the 250's and earlier the 260's and for a while the 270's...ouch. My pants are looser but my belts are there, shirts fit better, and soon I won't have to pay extra for another X in front of the L for my wardrobe.

3. Speaking of weight loss, you'll begin to look better and people will notice. A cool thing about this is that no one is afraid to say "wow, have you lost weight?" or "You're looking thinner". No one will ever say (except for me to my wife, in a loving way of course) "wow, you're packing it on!" or " You're looking fatter today" or "The city called, they said you're going to have to register for your own zip code". ok I'd never say that last one...without a few beers of course, heh heh. Seriously though, this is a big boost in confidence and makes you want to pound the asphalt again and again.


4. This one is a personal one for me. A long, long time ago. In a city not too far, far away. I was diagnosed with a pilonidal cyst. This is a very embarrassing area to have a sack of pus on you. Basically it's your lower back...very very lower back. Upper butt crack would be more accurate. The area where most of your weight goes when you're sitting down or when you're trying to do a sit up. Mine had to be operated on, thrice!!! Yup, three times baby. The beauty about this thing is that they can't just patch up the hole, no sir ee. You get to have a gaping open sore. oh yea, sounds like a paradise trip so far huh! well, you pack this wound with gauze and clean it out and it's a real hassle. My poor dad was the one to help me out with this one, and then my saint of a wife who took over the reigns when we got married, and even a while before we got married, so she knew very well what she was getting into. When she said she had my back I knew she truly meant it. Anyway, this went on for several years, probably 4 or 5 now. The cyst just would never go away! Plus it does cause a slight leakage, which is more embarrassing for me since this leakage of pus has a wonderful stink to it. I had to wear absorbent pads, AKA man diapers. Fan-freakin-tastic! Buying these wondrous items from walmart was a blast too! a 20-something man going in for a pack of freakin depends, that'll strike up a great conversation. Fortunately that never happened. But if it had happened I was prepared, I was going to blame my grandfather (rest his soul) and claim that these were for him. Poor fella lost bladder control last summer. Good thing he has a good and honest grandson like me to help him out.
ok, what was my point, oh yea. Now that you know how terrible this thing is...it's gone. FINALLY gone!!! I didn't have to put on a 'pad' today and it's awesome! My surgeon (who had to keep doing this.....but if he was really good wouldn't it have gone away by now? just saying) said I'd have to shave that area for the rest of my life to avoid this. psh, give me a break doc! well, I've given myself a break and that break is running! I don't know if it was coincidence or something else. Alls I know is that I recently started running and this sucker has finally healed!

I'm only in my third week of my program. I've been eating better. The results are almost instant people. Once you realize that exercise and better diet works you begin to wonder why everyone else isn't doing it. People who are fat and claimed they've 'tried' everything haven't. They didn't do something right, because if they had then they wouldn't be so large anymore. Maybe they got discouraged because they didn't see the results THEY wanted soon enough. Maybe they didn't think another big mac was going to hurt them, just one more just one more. A co worker asked me what I've been doing, as if I recently stumbled upon classified information from the pentagon. I simply told him, I've started running and I've been eating better. No dietary supplements, no pills, no magic gels. Just fruits, veggies, nuts, lean meats, and running. That simple. Of course this 'simple' is just that, a simple overview of many things to consider. This is an entire lifestyle we're talking about. It's many months, years, decades a whole life time of habits to change. It's not easy. But once you have determination and you are willing to commit yourself to this and embrace it with every fiber you've got, it ain't so bad. You realize you're helping yourself to live a happier fuller life, and probably a longer one. I used to think, "well, I know if I eat fast food and junk all the time I'll be unhealthy and live a shorter life, but at least I'll enjoy what I'm eating." well, that may be true but I sure don't want to develop diabetes or entice a heart attack or stroke while in my 30's or 40's. I've got a family man! I need to be able to keep up with my son, who by the way, is only 16 months and running around already, takes the breath out of my wife and I. But really I do this new life style because I'm now feeling good, really good.

I guess you could say,
I have happy feet.




yeah I know, corny. Oh well, it's what the people love.

McDonald's under 200 Calories

I've figured out a little meal at Mickey D's that'll get you satisfied both in the tummy and on the scale!

Keep this in mind as you read through. A cheeseburger from the golden arches is 300 calories, and mcchicken is 360 calories, 3 chocolate chip cookies is 480 calories! just three little cookies! holy cow!

alright, here's the meal:

Order a side salad (20 calories) with lowfat balsamic vinegarette (40 calories, but I use half the package so 20 calories there). Then order a snack wrap grilled with no sauce. Take the snack wrap apart and cut the chicken (60 calories) and throw the chicken pieces with the cheese and shred into the side salad (the cheese is 40 calories and the shred is 0 calories). Don't use the flour tortilla because that's 140 calories right there. Mix up the salad and with a side of apple dippers without the carmel (35 calories and 70 calories respectively) and water to drink you'll only rack up 175 calories with this meal!

It's light and and fresh (you might want to make sure the side salad is fresh, it is McDonald's afterall) and it won't tip the scale. Since this will be less than 4 bucks it won't tip your wallet either.

That's all for now. Enjoy your fast food responsibly.