Catching Up

So I've been really bad about keeping up with posting. I think that maybe my goal of posting once a day was a bit of ambitious. I think that maybe once or twice a week might be a bit more do-able. So I'm going to try to catch you up on what's happened since my last post in regards to 5k training, general fitness, and my walk.

I'm going to wrap up my 3rd week of training tomorrow morning. I lost a week with our family vacation to San Antonio. I was hoping to get my two runs in while we were on vacation, however that didn't happen for a couple of reasons. One, we were up way too late to be able to get up at 5am to go for a run. Secondly, the housing development that our rental house was in lived up to the title of 'The Hill Country". I really think if I tried to run in that neighborhood I would have had a heart attack, stroke, or broken a bone of some sort. So I elected to sleep in late, it was my vacation, and will just have to make up the week somewhere else. Unfortunately, I just found out today that the race I was planning on running in as my first 5k was cancelled. So I've been told there will still be a "bandit run" on the same day but the official race was cancelled. So that's kind of a bummer, but I'm still training as normal and maybe I'll find some other official races to run in around the same time. I'm really excited just about the opportunity of getting out there and continuing to grow as a runner. It is starting to get better. I still have aches and pains out on the road, but I'm starting to enjoy those pains because to me it means that somethings growing or changing. I'm still waiting for the day that my physical endurance outlasts my cardio endurance, but that too will come in time. I'm enjoying the concept of being a 'runner', it gives me a bit of pride in myself and the accomplishment that being a runner means to me personally. I recently read an article on someone's blog about how a 5k is just a warm up run for real runners and isn't anything to brag about. I really enjoyed my run the next morning because the jack-waggon's article just fueled me and made me want to run all the more. For me a 5k will be a huge accomplishment for me when I get there.

Project 280 has been a roller-coaster the past two weeks. I had gotten down to 374, being a 25 lbs weight loss and I was on cloud nine. The next two weeks brought on weight gain of 9lbs taking me back to 383. I was so mad with myself for slipping up with a few fast food meals, and letting myself fall off the wagon. This week however was a good week. Yesterday when I weighed in it was 376, dropping back down to two pounds away from where I was and 6 lbs away from my 3 month goal of 370, giving me a week and a half to get down to my goal. I continue to find a sense of accomplishment in eating healthier and working out. I'm awarded by the weight loss, but just the feelings that I get when I wake up every morning knowing that I'm doing something for myself, my wife, and my future children so that I can be around for a long time and set a better example for my children (when they get here) so that they don't have to struggle with the same things that I have. I feel stronger, leaner, and just overall more fit. I don't feel the embarrassment that I once felt when I walked into the gym. I now walk in and feel proud that I'm there and as if to say to everyone there, 'yeah I'm not ripped, but just wait and I'll be there soon'.

My walk has been a bit more of a crawl the past couple weeks. Just as I haven't been making time to blog, I also haven't made time to spend in the word, and I've noticed it. I just haven't felt like my attitude has been the same and really haven't felt as close to God as I want. I have told myself that I've just got to do it. One thing that I've learned recently is that beating myself up over my mistakes doesn't help me avoid mistakes in the future. So, I'm not going to beat myself up, I'm just going to do things different in the future starting tomorrow. I'm going to start reading through Hebrews starting tomorrow, so if you want to join me I'll be spending a week on each chapter and will try to post about my readings on a regular basis.

I'd just like to say to all of you who read my blog and follow me on twitter and Facebook I really appreciate all the support and encouragement you give me, it really means a lot to me.

My personal run for freedom

Ok, so I told you that I would post about Ultimate 5k 2.1 and here it is. July 4th was a busy day for us as we had a good bit of errands and 'honey-dos' to get done as well as prepare a few dishes for the cookout later that afternoon. I decided that it would be a good idea to go ahead and get my run in 'early', and on the 3rd day of a 3 day weekend early came about 7am. So I got up strapped on my tune, laced up my shoes, and grabbed Addison (my trusty, 4-legged trainer) and headed out the door. Usually I run on the streets of our neighborhood and that gets the job done fine, today I decided 'it's not too hot, the sun's up I'm going to run around the pond/lake at our neighborhood 'it'll be a nice change of pace'. So I started out doing my thing and the first couple times around the pond no problem. As I was turning to make my 3rd lap around I came up behind a couple walking with their baby in a stroller. 'No big deal' I tell myself, I'll just go around them so as I start to make my way around them on the left side the woman stops and swings her stroller to the left. I have to stop and nearly run over Addison and tweak my ankle a little bit to keep from form tackling this woman and her baby. I stop myself and Addison and at this point no one needs to go to the ER. As I attempt to pass them on the right side of the side walk the man decides this would be the appropriate time to adjust the tightness of his shoe laces, so he stoops down to make the modification to his laces. Once again I throw on the breaks and stop myself. Now I'm not kidding anyone, I'm no Hussein Bolt, but when you get a freight train rolling at 2 mph you still can't stop it on a dime. So I avoid the couple and stroller booby trap. I make my way around the pond on my 3rd lap and as I'm on my final back stretch I notice a woman who appears to be in her late 50s early 60s, probably 120lbs soaking wet, walking a Newfoundland Hound that easily outweighs her in triples. It's warm outside and the small horse is no doubt hot, so what does this 'responsible' pet owner do, she walks down to the edge of the water and lets him get in the water. Awesome, we do this all the time with Addison, the difference here is that we keep Addison ON THE LEASH!! I see this massive whale of a dog in the water on the other side of the pond thinking to myself 'ah, no big deal he's all the way over there'. I learned a new lesson that day; small horses can swim really fast. That beast was over to our side of the pond in no time and was attempting to have his way with my little 35 pound wheaten. At this point I pull my earbuds out and hear this brittle old woman yelling 'come back sweet pea, come back' in about the most calm and soft voice you could think of; imagine your great grandmother reading you a bed time story, voice. I have two thoughts in the moment, punch the dog in the nose and send him scurrying off; which I wanted to do but his owner was in view and I didn't want to deal with that. So I enlisted our second option, RUN!! Addison and I took off in a dead sprint, which is great fun at the end of a workout, and we hauled it. Someone else came over and grabbed the mammoth of a dog and stopped him from his lustful pursuit of Addison. As I got near the woman she said 'I hope you and your dog are ok' to which I politely replied, 'yes man we are fine, but you know our neighborhood and the city of Denton have leash laws', 'oh yes son I know, and he has a leash on'. I didn't have the heart to tell her that a leash is only effective if there is some form of resistance on the other end of the leash. So we made our way back to the house where we both crashed for a few minutes before I got back up and began the rest of my to do list. I didn't anticipate all the antics of the morning but all in all it was a good run, it was a tough one being that it was my first back after 3 days off. I did however, feel like my legs are getting stronger and my cardio endurance is increasing. Maybe with this obstacle run I'll be ready for the spartan run my cousin Todd is doing in the fall.

'Never give up, never surrender'

Drew

Catching up

Ok so I was supposed to post a blog from last Wednesday's run and haven't gotten around to it yet so this will be my blog for last Wednesday and in the morning will catch up for today's missed post.

I love getting up at 5 in the morning and running into the sunrise. There's something invigorating about being out and doing when the day breaks. It's as if God himself is greeting you and saying 'well hello, look what all I have for you to see'. I can only think of a few other scenarios that would be more blissfully amazing than a sunrise run.

Now don't get me wrong yet the running part is still not great fun in terms of I still hey cramps and my legs get tired. And I'm not running down the PCH; it's just around the block or the pond in my neighborhood. But, here's the thing I've been learning: life isn't about wanting what you don't have, it's about finding the joy in what you do have. What I have is a beautiful neighborhood that God has blessed me with. I have an amazing dog to run with me that has also been a gift from God. I've also had the pleasure of getting to know a few more of my neighbors while out on my runs. But most importantly, I've had the joy of learning that God creates beauty in all of the nooks and crannies of life that we don't expect and they're just hiding out waiting for us to find them. Seeing the sunrise, in my mind, is like seeing God awaken His creation, myself included, for another day of worship. You can't help but be motivated and excited about the day when you see it start with the sunrise.

I look forward to many sunrise runs to come and the motivation that it continues to bring me.

This run concludes my first week of training. Ultimate 5k week 2 starts Monday.