M-19

Yesterday's Training:
Weight: 229 lbs.
Run: 3 miles @ 11:09 pace with daughter evening
Strength Training: none

Weekly run total: 53 miles

Last Week's Total: 42.3 miles
This morning's weight: 229 lbs.

M-20

Yesterday's Training:
Weight: 230.5 lbs.
Run: 20 miles @ 11:16 pace, morning
Strength Training: none

Weekly run total: 50 miles

Last Week's Total: 42.3 miles
This morning's weight: 229 lbs.

I was going to split the running 14 & 6, but as I was running the 14, I imagined how I would be obsessed with needing to go run again and how psychologically difficult it would be. Since I was feeling pretty good, I decided to do the whole thing at once. It was tough, but it gave me a chance to rehearse some of the mental tricks I was planning to use to help me get through the last 8 miles of the marathon. I addition, it gave me a lot of confidence that I will actually be able to do the entire 26.2 miles. I was definitely whipped when I finished, but I was able to function after a little nap and my legs feel fine.

M-21

Yesterday's Training:
Weight: 229 lbs.
Run: 3 miles intervals with daughter, morning
Strength Training: Back & Tricpes 45 min.

Weekly run total: 30 miles

Last Week's Total: 42.3 miles
This morning's weight: 230.5 lbs.

I felt strange running so little yesterday, like I have been sloughing off.

M-22

Yesterday's Training:
Weight: 227.5 lbs.
Run: 4.5 miles Intervals, morning
Run: 4.5 miles @ 9:30 pace, Early Evening, Very Tired
Strength Training: Abs 30 min. evening

Weekly run total: 27 miles

Last Week's Total: 42.3 miles
This morning's weight: 229 lbs.

I was sleepy all day yesterday. I don't think I am getting enough sleep.

M-23

Yesterday's Training:
Weight: 226.5 lbs.
Run: 6.2 miles @ 9:41 pace, morning
Run: 5 miles @ 11:40 pace, late afternoon with daughter
Strength Training: Chest & Legs 50 min. evening

Weekly run total: 18 miles

Last Week's Total: 42.3 miles
This morning's weight: 227.5 lbs.

Hiking and Happiness

I have felt much pain, shame, and anger over my weight. I could make plenty of lists about all the terrible things associated obesity. I used to think how unfair that the world is biased. I used to think how horrible that seat belts, amusement park rides, and furniture wasn't made for fat people. I used to think how cruel it was that world didn't find me beautiful because of my extra ton-age.

I used to dream that I would slim down to a nice svelte physique, comfortably fit in an airplane seat, and never wonder if I would cause an elevator to go past its weight capacity. I used to dream of being athletic. I used to dream of women swooning over me. I used to dream about how much easier and wonderful life would be once I hit that magic number on the scale.

Somewhere along the way, I gave all those things up. Somehow, I figured out that my happiness in life would never change no matter what number was on the scale. I discovered I had used my obesity as an excuse, a "whipping boy," the reason for all my problems. I think that I gave up a lot of dreams and hid behind the fat.

I walked on this path of fitness for a short time in the grand scheme of things, but I have a long way to go. I am not taking about weight loss, but about straightening out my thinking, creating a positive outlook, and enjoying life as it is right now. I do not walk this path in order to get into designer jeans, to ride on that special roller coaster, or have the ladies check me out. I walk this path because of what God has given me right now.

1. I have all my parts in working order.
2. I am intelligent (just don't ask my wife)
3. I have a good sense of humor.
4. I have a great smile.
5. I am caring.
6. I have many talents including music, writing, and performing.
7. I have a loving devoted wife
8. I have wonderful children who are full of life.
9. I have a strong faith rooted in history with factual evidence.
10. I live in a beautiful part of this planet.
11. I live in a country that values freedom and has an ethic that cares for those in need.
12. I have a job and a relative life of ease
13. I have riches far beyond what my modest paycheck could ever purchase.
14. I have some good friends.

How can I not be happy right now with a list like that? Notice, there is not a single reference to my weight on that list. In fact, the list is not dependent on whether I am 500 lbs. or 150 lbs. This list is also list of reasons to continue to walk the path of fitness. Because I have all these great things going for me, I want to make the most of them. As I walk this path, I enjoy these things all the more. It's like walking through the woods. A quick jaunt into the woods doesn't reveal much. A drive through reveals even less. However, take a nice long stroll through the woods and you will start to notice the smells, the sounds, the movements, the colors, the mosses and ferns, the critters, the bugs, the sun, the different trees, and all the wonder and splendor of the surrounding world. Take a long walk through the woods, and the world around you becomes more vibrant. So it is with the path of fitness. The longer you walk that path, the more vibrant your world becomes. All those wonderful things are there in the woods regardless, but the longer you walk the path, the better they all become.

Just some thoughts.

Living Fit Is My #1 Job!

M-24

Yesterday's Training:
Weight: 228 lbs.
Run: 4 miles @ 9:52 pace, morning chilly
Run: 5 miles @ 9:52 pace, late afternoon warm and muggy
Strength Training: Abs 30 min.

Weekly run total: 9 miles

Last Week's Total: 42.3 miles
This morning's weight: 226.5 lbs.