Then Andy gets this stupid idea to do the USMC Mud Run and I say “derrr, sure, sounds like fun!”. Then I looked at the web site. Uh oh.

I need races like this to motivate me to work harder. I didn’t have time due to my insane working schedule to train well for the Warrior Dash and I didn’t do well because of it.

This time has to be different. First of all, it’s a team race. I’ll have 3 others depending on me. I can’t let them down, so I must train and train hard. If I give it my all and I’m still slow then at least I gave it my all. Second, it’s intense. I need to be in shape for this one or I will get hurt. I don’t think there’s any room for error like there is in races like the Muddy Buddy and the Dash. I’ve got to turn it up a notch. Last, I’m 32 now and sick of saying “this time it will be different”. The accountability of team mates, determination, and an attitude where I choose to put this before other things that have owned me in the past will get me there.

I expect angry emails and comments if I don’t post on my progress on a regular basis. I have about 4 months to get ready, and I’ll need every minute of it.

Adam

The Warrior Dash was advertised as a 3.22 mile race with 11 obstacles.  It turned out to be just about 2.5 miles still, with 11 obstacles.  How could something be more challenging?  I don’t know.. I guess we could add 2 miles to the advertised distance and 19 more obstacles.  On top of that, make teams of 4 run together, and make sure it’s the biggest, most challenging mud run race in the south east.  Actually, if you could make the obstacles based on real life battles, or actual obstacles used to train the Marines, that would be awesome!  Oh wait! they did!

So here’s the deal.  Adam and I are on a team together.  Our times were a bit different last time, and yes, we both ran it, but we did not stay together.  This time, we will.  It’s a rule. We’ll have to.  On top of that we need 2 other team members that are available the weekend of September 25th.  I don’t care if you aren’t in shape at all, you have 4 months to train.  The only thing is, you MUST have a beard and a good attitude.  We are doing this together to motivate, and encourage eachother to push ourselves more than we’ve ever pushed ourselves before.  We need someone who is going to do that with us.  So, do some thinking….

 Do you know of anyone who will do this with us??  Leave a comment!

So it’s over.  Everything I worked for, is over.  So what now?  Stop working out?  Stop training?  It’s easy for me to think that way.  I proved that I could do it so, I can stop.

I’m not doing that this time.  I’ m going to keep training.  I’m going to keep losing weight, or… at this point, I could say body fat, because my weight seems to have plateaued.  I’m going to sign up for another adventure race, and train for it.  I don’t see myself as the type of person who could just run a 5k, or a marathon.  It just seems kinda boring to me.  I know it sounds funny, but I need something that is going to challenge me 100%.

So, what recommendations do you have?  What should I do next?  Are there any intense races in the southeast region that I can sign up for?  (With Adam, obviously)  I want to be challenged.  I’ll run it, no matter how intense.  Hit me in the comment section below.

But…

At the beginning of March: (When I started this adventure)

• I weighed over 200 pounds.
• I couldn’t run 1/2 a mile.
• I got out of breath walking up stairs.
• My 38 size pants were tight.
• I was on my first belt hole.
• I wasn’t happy about my health.
• People were making comments/jokes about my weight.
• I didn’t even like taking my shirt off in front of my wife.

Today:

• I weight somewhere around 183 pounds.
• I run anywhere from 2-4 miles on any given day.
• Stairs… ha! simple. I run up them for fun.
• I’m wearing 32-34 size pants, depending on the brand.
• I’m on my 4th belt hole. (after the next one, I’ll need a new belt.)
• For the most part, I feel healthy, and I like the way I feel.
• No one makes direct comments/jokes to me about my weight. (I know I’m not anywhere near what I should be, but I think I look slim.)
• I take my shirt off… Probably more than I should… (You would think I’m Matthew McConaughey with how much I take my shirt off)

So. Am I ready?  I don’t think so.  But it doesn’t matter.  I set out to do something, and I’ve done it.  I trained, as best I could, with a back injury in the middle.  I’ve improved my health, my body, and my self-esteem.  I have changed how I eat. I have changed my life.

So, this Sunday, I may not win 1st place. (Ok. I definitely won’t) and I may get tired, I may even want to give up but, I will finish the race, and I will know that I gave it every ounce of energy I could give it. 

That’s what this entire adventure is all about. Giving it 100%.  And I know I’ve done that.

I think it’s very clear I’ve been working out, adding cardio and weight training to my weekly routine.  I haven’t really altered my diet too much but I wanted to share a few things I’ve done.  Not like my results are incredible and everyone will be jumping on this bandwagon, but I figured it’d be worth sharing anyway.

- Stopped drinking coke.  If I feel like I need a coke, I take a sip.  Literally.  I get a small dixie cup. (Like the kind for mouthwash) and I take a sip.  I follow it up with a cup of water.  I’ve found that since I stopped drinking coke, the times where I feel like I need one, are fewer and farther between.  As of today, it’s been around a week since I’ve even entertained the flavor.

- Snacking.  I know some people say snacking several times a day is better than eating big meals.  That’s probably true.  I don’t have that luxury but, at night, when I get hungry, instead of grabbing a bag of chips. (I still do sometimes) I grab an apple.  My wife is really good about not buying junk that I’ll devour in one sitting.  We have single serving bags of chips in case I’m feeling weak.

- Meats.  Andrea cooks vegetarian or vegan at the house.  She’s so good at it that I don’t even realize that I’m not eating meat. (Most nights)  She replaces my protien with beans and rice.  She cooks fish at the house still, and it’s a great protien.  The truth is.. I don’t miss it that much, and my stomach is thanking me for it. When we go out for dinner, I still get meat, but I *try* to stick to chicken.  (Though sometimes a hamburger is inevitable.

- Breakfast.  I’ve added breakfast to my daily diet.  It’s really hard for me, because it’s easy to get caught up in work and skip it.  I started with food that I love. (Cheese eggs, Sausage, Buscuit)  I’ve moved to regular eggs (sans cheese), turkey sausage, and instead of the buscuit I alternate between a muffin and fruit.  I eat that with once cup of orange or apple juice. 

- At lunch, my company lists the calories and fat in each serving we get.  Instead of getting what I want, now I typically get what looks healthiest based on those numbers. 

That’s all I do.  Now. When my wife cooks, she may have some secrets as far as carbs/starches and so on, but I’m not sure.  I’m extremely lucky to have a wife that supports me and does stuff to support me without even telling me.  (While still buying my Cinnamon Toast Crunch)

Another area I’m fortunate is my company has a cafeteria.  I pay 3 dollars a day for breakfast and lunch.  They make most of the food pretty healthy, and always have a salad bar if the food they server isn’t healthy. (Fried Friday) 

I see God has really put me in a position where I can’t make any more excuses, and I’m taking the action to do this.  You can do this too.  Hop on board!

-Andy

So far this week I’m 2/2.  I ran 1.5 miles yesterday, with .5 miles being on an incline of 10.  I also was able to do ab exercises, and some weight training.  I don’t know the name of what I’m doing is, but I’ve watched several people while on the treadmill, and have basically copied their workouts.  I can do one pull up.. which.. is ridiculous, but I would like to be able to do more soon.   I was also able to do 50 pushups yesterday.

Today, I ran 2 miles.  50 pushups, and 50 curls with each arm.  It’s not much, but it’s enough to keep me pretty sore, so I’m living.  I hope to keep the downward trend, and I can already tell I’m about to lose another belt hole.  Which makes me happy.  I look at myself every day, so it’s hard to notice a difference. 

The only thing I’ve noticed so far is I can see my feet.  My wife says she notices, but again, it’s not that I don’t trust her, but it may be her job to tell me I’m looking better.  

So. that’s my update.  Another update will be coming soon.  Hopefully I’ll be able to go 3/3 tomorrow, and knock out a long run.  thanks for the encouragement.

-Andy

I returned to the Gym yesterday.  I’m limited to light lifting and the eliptical.  It’s not as hard a workout as I’d like, but I’ll take it. 

So.. week 6.  Still only lost 10 pounds total.  I expect big changes next week.

Holla!

-Andy

It was.  By the end of the day yesterday, I couldn’t move, and I was a hunch back.  This morning I went to the Chiropractor.  He X-rayed me, and hooked me up to the electro thing-a-ma-bob.  After 15 minutes of that, he did some ultrasounding thing.  After that he tried to lay me down and allign me.  No go.  He used some tool, no go.  I won’t budge.

He decided that there was no way he’d get me alligned today.  He told me to not lift anything over 10 pounds, not use a wallet, change how I sit, change how I type, change everything.  Basically, my back pain has been years in the making, and frankly, he’s surprised I wasn’t in there 6 weeks ago.  So…. apparently the pain I was running through wasn’t normal. 

So.  net/net.  I’ve been ordered to not workout until he gives me permission.  Since this is my back, and my goal was to be able to play with my daughter, I’m going to listen to him. 

So… that’s my non-update.

Meaning, since last week, I’ve lost two pounds.  I’ll be honest without trying to sound too cocky.  I feel like I look like I’ve lost more.  I will attribute that to muscle gain.  When I look down I can see my toes and my…. well, you get the point.  This week it’s become very clear that I have gained muscle.  By how much I can lift, how much I can run, and I can even do 4 pull-ups.  Originally I could do zero.

When I started this crazy adventure, I couldn’t run on a treadmill without severe pain.  I could make it to about .75 miles and I felt like I might die.  Today I ran 1.5 miles and stopped because I was bored.  Not because I was killing over.  I call that progress.  To date my record run is 4 miles.  I know it’s not a lot, but dang, In 5 (ish) weeks, I’ve improved so much, and it goes to show that if I get motivated I can do it. 

However, the “Captain’s Chair” exercise will from here on out be called the mercy seat in my book.  Because it’s deadly.  I didn’t realize it used back muscles, which, had I thought about it I would have known, but it does.  Today, I ran 1.5 miles, and did some strength training, which included the mercy seat.  I did that yesterday too.  After I got out of the shower, I realized that I had pulled/thrown a muscle in my back and neck.  It hurts.  Tonight I’m going to have my wife crack my back, and I am going to put an icy-hot patch on it.  Hopefully I’ll be ready for my long run tomorrow. 

So.  here’s to progress!  I’m at 190 pounds, and I feel like the weight will be dropping even faster now that my muscle is built up.  We’ll see if I’m right.   Cheers!

- Andy