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Just a quick plug for a really great project I was made aware of from a local friend (thanks Shauna!). Ashley Kumlien is running across the US to raise awareness about MS. Please go check out her website: MSRuntheUSInc. and you can also follow her on Twitter: @MSRuntheUS.
This is the live version of the song – couldn’t embed the official video.
First, a disclaimer, this post is meant to be taken in general terms and is not specific to any one person or people in my life. If you think I’m talking about you, I’m not, so relax. 🙂
I have made some major changes in my life over the last year or so and I’ve begun to notice that when you change your life, it does effect other people too. Everyone in my life has been supportive of me and that’s been great. Not everyone is that lucky though and the following can happen. Do you have these people in your life?
The Enabler
The enabler is generally that person that you used to hang out with and feed your pie hole. This person has all your same, old, bad habits and doesn’t want to make the changes you have. They don’t understand why you no longer want to sit around eating half a pizza and watching B movies on cable.
The worst trait of the enabler though, is their desire to win you back to the dark side. They will invite you out to eat at places you no longer wish to go, constantly talk about unhealthy habits and even go so far as to offer you junk food even though they know you are trying hard to avoid it.
They probably just miss your friendship or don’t like seeing the negative aspects of their life reflected by your changes. So what can you do? You have to either ignore it, talk it out with them or just let them go as a friend. At the end of the day, it’s better to surround yourself with friends in a like mindset and it may seem mean, but I think it’s necessary.
I’m still doing my push ups and I got through week 3 again and it was tough but doable. I am going to go ahead and tackle week 4 again next week and do a final exhaustion test at the end of next week. Since I am having surgery on the 29th, I’m not sure when I’ll be doing push ups again but I fully plan to get back on the program as soon as possible.
I just finished watching Spirit of the Marathon via Netflix Streaming and it’s a great movie and I highly recommend it even if you aren’t interested in running. It’s also available on Hulu for streaming.
This movie is more than just about marathons and marathon runners, at its core it’s about setting lofty goals and working really hard to achieve them and realizing that, with hard work, anything is possible.
They follow around a select group of runners at different levels, from beginners to pros, as they prepare to run the Chicago Marathon. It was nice to see the various levels and see the training schedules and commit that these runners have made. I really felt for the poor guy that got injured though, I know how that feels. I wanted to at least walk the Lincoln Half-Marathon this year but broke my foot instead. These things happen and in a way, I’m thankful that my injuries have come early on because I’ve learned how to deal with them and move on with life.
Overall I found the movie to be quite inspiring and I hope, someday, that I’ll be one of those crazy people out there running a marathon. For now, I have my eye on just getting to the point where I can start. I need to get my body repaired and recovered so I can do this. I would love to run a 5k before the end of the year – this was my one New Year’s resolution and I’m not giving up on that goal.
The movie really hit another spot for me too. This whole life change and weight loss journey feels a lot like a double or triple marathon. It’s a long way to go and you start to wonder – am I going to make? Can I do this? So you hit walls, you get hung up on plateaus, your body objects, all the things that can happen in a marathon. It’s about endurance, it’s about going the distance and staying on course. Slow down when you need to but never, never give up.
I rode my bike in to work yesterday and Ross decided to ride down and meet me after work so we could go get food and ride around. Pafford was >supposed< to join us for a little bit but chose not to in the end. It was really hot by the time I got off work, the heat index was pushing 100 degrees. I’ve noticed lately that I have a lot more tolerance for heat though, so I wasn’t really noticing it.
Ross had to ride down from across town and by the time he got to my work, he looked pretty worn out. We were going to bike out to east campus to get dinner but ended up at Noodles and Company downtown, which was fine with me.
After we ate, we went to try and see if the band was still playing in Union Plaza Park but they had packed up by the time we got there. We then hit the Antelope Valley Trail to Rock Island and started heading south again. It was about this point when I noticed that Ross wasn’t really keeping up and kind of looked like he was going to die. Eventually I agreed to stop so he could, you know, not die. We stopped at Bishop Heights Park for a little break in the riding.
From there we rode down Rock Island to Hwy 2 where Ross took the off ramp and headed towards home. Since I was feeling up to it and because I hadn’t ridden in awhile, I decided to keep going south on Rock Island. I was going to turn around at Old Cheney Road but I was nearly to the end of the trail anyway, so I kept going to Densmore Park.
On the way back I noticed that storm clouds were starting to form. We were in a severe thunderstorm watch and I knew storms were possible so I decided it was probably time to book it home. I made it in plenty of time before the storms hit but this was one of the views I had during my ride.
I ended up going about 14.3 miles on this ride and it felt great. I did, however, come home and fall asleep for a bit when I really should have gone to the store. I ended up making a run to the grocery store at almost 10PM, had to because I needed fruit for my lunch. (I bought cherries, woo!)
I am again pleased, overall, with how this week went. I’m working on making more changes in my thinking and trying to really move into the mindset that this is who I am now. I am the person that eats healthy foods, that gets exercise, that rides a bike to work, and that does the things I always though I’d never be able to do.
Stats time! Another week – another loss: 2.1 lbs, woo!
Today’s Weight: 251.5 lbs
Weekly Change: – 2.1 lbs
Total Change: – 11.3 lbs
Total Distance Traveled (biking and walking): 53.5 miles
Total Cardio Time: 149.45 minutes
Total Weight Lifted: 5580 lbs
I didn’t get in any big bike rides this week but I needed to take a few rest days and I’ve been busy with other things so it’s harder to find the time. I’m trying to get everything ready for post surgery, hanging out with friends more, going to more events and working more hours lately.
Speaking of work, I’ve been really getting some calorie burn in at work recently too. I’m working on installing and upgrading computers and it involves moving computers, hauling computers, crawling under desks and general other manual labor type tasks. I have found that this year, unlike the last 6, I’m not worn out by the end of the day. I don’t think twice about crawling under a desk or fitting between desks, etc. That’s been pretty nice so far, makes all this hard work actually seem worth it.
At the great fear of feeding his ego, I decided to post this anyway because I think it’s important. Everyone needs a Ross in their life, but what does that mean?
Ross, for me, is the guy that gets me to try things I normally wouldn’t have. Pushes me to keep going, got me to ride my bike further than I thought I could, got me to impulsively buy a tennis racket and attempt to play. Ross is almost always up for a bike ride and that makes it so much easier to stay motivated.
So who do you have in your life that motivates and challenges you? Can you be that person for someone else?
Never underestimate your abilities because once you realize you can do a little, you find you can do a lot. Approach new things with a sense of wonder and adventure – enjoy life!
I think about food a lot. I have the normal thoughts everyone has, “what’s for dinner?” “what should I take for lunch?” “if we eat out, where should we go?” and so on. I’m ok with these thoughts, it’s the other times that bother me and I want to change. I want to work on not obsessing about food any more. I have said all along that I am “breaking up” with food and it’s time to make yet another step in this plan. My new goal is to no longer let thoughts about food linger. The thoughts I’m talking about are little things like imagining what I’d eat if I did go to the donut shop, or remembering some really nice treat I had once. I think about when I’m going to eat next, how long until I can eat again, etc. This has nothing to do with hungry and I don’t think it can be healthy.
I need a plan though so this is definitely a work in progress. The best way to stop is to make sure I’m too busy to care. I need to find more things to do – read more, use the treadmill, watch a DVD, go for a ride, read some blogs, write in my blog, listen to the radio, etc. When the thoughts I want to stop having start I need to just say “hey, self, this is one of those things you wanted to change” and then move on to something else.
The challenge starts now – I’m ready!
I’ve taken a few days off of riding for various real reasons that I’m not going in to here. I think it’ll be good to get a little rest and do some cross training on the treadmill and with my new core training program. Last night I did get out on the bike because my friend Stacy bought a new bike and we went for a ride around the neighborhood.
My Schwinn Mesa Runner and Stacy's Specialized Expedition
I start my new core program tonight, I found it on Daily Burn – it’s actually called 6-Pack Abs and it’s a 60 day program. Since my surgery is in two weeks, I know I’ll have to put it on hold for a little bit but I plan on sticking with it until then. I really want to get in some good core work before I’m resigned to the crutches for two weeks post surgery. I’m hoping once I transition into the walking cast/boot that I should be able to start up again as long as I watch the pressure on my foot.
I also need to get my bike training ramped back up in the next couple days because my 25 mile trail ride is coming up on the 27th – I’m so excited!
This Awesome Life 