Short post, I promised before and after pictures, here they are. 289 days ago (9 and a half months)…I started out with a goal to lose 100 pounds, I have lost 102 as of veterans day. I plan to lose 20-30 more. Two days ago was my 30th birthday…this is what I gave myself.
March 11, 2009 (Glendale, AZ)
December 23, 2009 (Kiwanis Park, Tempe, AZ)
Cory Christopher Carrier (12/7/87-10/1/09)
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/312479
I’m not sure what prompted me to write this post today, perhaps it is because it’s his birthday in two days. I’ve had trouble finding a way to express how I felt about the man in the picture above. He was my cousin, but more than that, he was my friend, and someone I admired and looked up to (no pun intended). You see, Cory had muscular dystrophy, he had been confined to a wheelchair. By talking to him, and getting to know him, you’d find it hard to believe. Hence the name Krippl, which he assigned himself.
It didn’t matter to me. As I most certainly, evidently learned quickly after I heard of his passing away. Friends came up to me to give me comfort, etc…and asked how he passed since he was so young. Cory had a bout of flu, and ended up in the hospital at the end of September, and was unable to beat it. It was H1N1. That’s neither here, nor there. This post is not about the end, but his life.
When I was growing up, I moved around a lot, so I wasn’t always so close to Cory. But when I moved back to Tucson for middle school, and high school. I grew quite close with him. I remember playing video games with him all the time when I was growing up, I would routinely kick his butt at these games early on, as I’m 8 years older than him. But eventually, this computer genius started kicking my butt all the time, and that got old fast, if you know me. I still played with him, but I also obviously started growing out of the video game stage.
Cory and I had another love in common. Our love for technology. He had another moniker that I laugh at still today, Geeky Gimp. Heh…definitely a geek, I think anyone who knew him, knows that. Cory was much better with computers than me, and I’m sure he got sick of my constant pinging him to ask him computer questions. He never showed it though, always willing to help and educate me. I still try to ping him today, but when I scroll down my buddy list, he’s not there anymore and that’s when it’s hardest. I miss him…
There’s something else I always admired about Cory. He was an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Association, and always helped at the local telethon, and would be seen on television often. As long as I can remember, I’ve never seen Cory once complain about his circumstances. I try to model my life after him, because whenever I get down, and worry about things, or get upset about my circumstances, I say “what would Cory think?” If Cory ever was frustrated about his situation, he never let on. Even in the last days, I remember a tweet by him, “thank god for hot nurses.” That’s just who he was, always looking at the bright side, never worrying about tomorrow, because let’s face it, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Only the present, and that’s why it is a gift. A silly cliche, but it fits.
I never knew how much my cousin thought of me, I knew we were good friends, etc…but I never asked him. Then one day a few months before his passing, he pinged me, with saying only one thing. “I’m proud of you.” (In regards to my desire to improve my health and weight). I wish he was here to celebrate with me when I hit the 100 pounds plateau. I just achieved that near the middle of November. I know you are watching down on me, and and are proud of me. I never told Cory how I felt about him. I wish I had, and if he is reading this right now, I’d tell him, no, Cory, it’s me who should be proud of you. You lived life in such a way that made everyone love you, and made it hard to feel crappy about my own life when you grabbed life by the horns and did it your way.
A week after Cory’s passing ( I believe), we had a impromptu get together at his mother’s house. And I was having trouble with the situation still. So I went in his bedroom, Cory and I also showed another passion, for the Arizona wildcats. He had so many things from them signed, I was always jealous, but glad he had them. Then as I was walking out the bedroom door, I looked on his desk, and I saw something that floored me. There was a book on his desk about learning sign language. I always knew he wanted to, but I never had the time to come help him learn it. I wish I had. I didn’t realize he kept trying to do it on his own anyway. I wish I gave him more of my time to learn it.
I hope to be half the man Cory is, and was. If I am, I’ll be alright, and life will be okay. I miss you man, I love you. It’s just not the same here without you. Rest in peace, Krippl.
You know, I haven’t blogged lately. Oops, my bad. Anyway, so I decided to enter a second triathlon. This one was on Thanksgiving day. I’m sure most of you know by now, but around a month ago I broke a few ribs playing football, I was actually all but ready to pull out of the triathlon, but due to not being able to get a refund (which is normal) I decided to stay in.
Also this year, I was not running alone in the race, I had a friend running in it. I’ll just call it a little “competition” and maybe a motivator. Anyway, we carpooled together from East Valley to West Valley and got there around 5:30am. HOLEY MOLEY was it cold!! Now, I am 103 pounds lighter than I was, but I’m still a big dude who wears shorts most of the time. I was fricking COLD. I had a sweatshirt on that I thought I was gonna wear for the entire race. I was dreading getting out of the pool at the end of the race with how cold it was. Anyway, they ended up starting late, which is mostly due to the organizer going on and on and late entrants. We got to watch the kids do a mini triathlon. Which is just like a sprint except half as long. 1 mile run, 4 mile bike ride, and 200 meter swim. It was awesome to watch them, but I will say I was a bit disappointed to see some of the parents urging their kids on a little too harshly. They’re kids, if they fumble around with their helmets or forget to take their shoes off, or run the wrong way, so what? Chances are buddy, you’re gonna do and probably did do the same damn thing when you ran for the first time.
Nonetheless, this was a reverse the course triathlon, 2 mile run, 12 mile bike ride, and 400 meter swim to end. We didn’t end up starting until 835am. Guys went first, and women left 10 minutes later. Like I said, I needed extra motivation because I was out of shape for a month, and was certain I wasn’t going to pull this off and would quit half way through. I knew my friend would overtake me eventually, my goal was to put it off as long as possible. I was certain she would pass me while I was still running. I was also certain there was no way I was going to beat my previous time and was certain I would not make it through the run.
Boy was I wrong, I guess the human body retains much of what it did before and you remember how to will yourself past the point of when you’re tired and just keep going. I ended up being able to run the first 3/4th of a mile, two days ago in the gym, I couldn’t even run for three minute without stopping, on a treadmill! This was colder, harder to breathe, and a different terrain. But alas I did it, I walked maybe a 1/4th of a mile to the half way point, ran another half mile, walked another 1/4th mile, and ran the last 1/4th.
Entering transition was a lot smoother this time, I didn’t have to try to pull a shirt on which made my time take forever last time, I was on my bike, and on my way within a minute of arriving in the transition. The bike was a breeze. It was a flat course, the last triathlon was half uphill. There was also a lot more action on the bike course this time. Lots more bikes, lots more people to pass, and be passed by. I actually was maybe 2 miles from end of the bike course, when my friend finally overtook me. I wasn’t mad, I put it off as long as I could and was impressed I put it off that long. I was happy for her. We both actually ended up in the transition from bike to swim together, she arrived about a minute or two ahead of me.
I was off to the swim portion, and whoo..let me tell you, 25 meters is a hell of a difference from 50 meter swimming pool! I hadn’t swam much in the last month, besides my ribs bothering me, and my shoulder, there wasn’t a place to swim much. I was exhausted by the end of the first lap. hanging on the rope half the time and walking some of the time. I feel like I cheated some what, but you know what, how many people today got out and ran a triathlon before stuffing themselves full of turkeys? I completed the race, about 5 minutes after my friend (which would mean she was about 15 minutes faster than me, adding the 10 minutes later starting time). I was certain I had beaten my time, and felt good about it.
I haven’t gotten the official results yet, but I’m going to guess I finished the run in less than 30 minutes, the bike in less than 30 minutes, and the swim in 10-15 minutes. Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes-1 hour, 30 minutes. We’ll see how that goes…
100 in 9? I didn’t need 9 months. I only needed 8. Today I weighed in at 224.6 pounds, bringing my weight loss total over the century mark. 102.4 pounds. You know, I was expecting some deep revelation, some soul defining moment. Then it dawned on me, the last eight months were the soul defining moments. The journey was the reward, the destination was just icing on the cake.
I guess I was expecting some sort of deep revelation, or jumping for joy. Perhaps, I’m just humbled by the experience that the last eight months has brought me. I don’t want to muddle it with words. I’ll just leave you with this, you can do anything you put your mind to, I’m living proof of that. When I made this decision eight months ago, I know some people balked at my goal, perhaps even some didn’t think it was possible, but I was reminded often by what my mother told me at the time, “if anyone is going to be able to do this, Richard, it’s you.”
I’d like to sit here and thank everyone who made it possible to do it, but…there’s too many to list. So, I’ll just say this, thank you all for your support. It really did mean a lot to me, even if it was hard to believe I’d do it in the beginning. 
And it feels like an eternity. August and May feel like breezes compared to October. Keep this short, because this is about weight loss, not my personal dramatics. In the month of October, I have lost a very close family member to me and I’ve broken my ribs. A lesser man would have cracked and fell back into an old lifestyle. And I did. I admit it, I am human. shocking huh? Between the month of September and October, for the first time, I did not lose weight, I gained weight. But fear not my minions, I dug myself out of the hole I was in, and am better for it.
How did the whole cracked ribs happen? As many of you know, I have decided to play tackle football in the city of Phoenix. It was the first practice in full pads, and I just took a shot to the ribs and later found out that I cracked a few of ‘em. So I have to take a few weeks (up to maybe a month) off. So, stats galore:
8/3/2009 254.0 (-6.4)
8/10/2009 251.6 (-2.4)
8/17/2009 250.4 (-1.2)
8/24/2009 249.6 (-0.8)
8/31/2009 245.6 (-4.0)
9/7/2009 244.6 (-1.0)
9/14/2009 245.4 (+0.8)
9/21/2009 244.4 (-1.0)
9/28/2009 243.2 (-1.2)
10/5/2009 239.8 (-3.4)
10/12/2009 244.4 (+4.6)
10/19/2009 241.6 (-2.8)
10/26/2009 237.4 (-4.2)
Lost 23 pounds in two months.
Total loss to date: 89.4 pounds. I found out from my doctor that he actually weighed me in at 327 pounds. So I adjusted the beginning.
On a side note, I’m back on weight watchers, which is helping keep my calories in check while I’m healing from my ribs. I also will be running my second triathlon on Thanksgiving day!
This question has been asked often enough that I might as well blog about it, you’d think I would have by now…
I tend to not talk about the nuitritional side of health, because, let’s face it, even though I eat a lot healthier now, I’m still a newbie at that part of the game. But I think I do have a handle on the whole workout side…
So, what do I do in the gym?
Well, it really depends. I can get a workout in anywhere, anytime. Be it at home in my bedroom (no not that you pervs! , using resistance bands, or on the road in New Mexico at the hotel gym. But for the sake of time, and your attention, we’ll just focus on the gym, if you need ideas on what to do while on the road, or can’t afford a gym, gimme a holler.
I usually get up at 4:45am, excuse me, as a dear friend so definitely pointed out. I SET my alarm for 4:45, and am out of bed by 5:00am. We’re all snoozers, I’m no exception to the rule. I throw on whatever is closest to me, because let’s face it, at 5:00am, I’m not the most coherent. I’ve shown up in the gym in some snazzy outfits, other times…showed up with shorts…but no underwear. Whew good thing I had a drawstring to cinch ‘em up. Anyway, grab a banana, get my work clothes together (THE NIGHT before), and Im’ out the door, and on my way to Pure Fitness.
**I’d like to take this time right here to address something that appalled me. This past week while in New Mexico, I found out that one of my coworkers was paying $75 a month for a gym membership! 75 FREAKING DOLLARS!!! If you are paying ANYTHING over $30 for a gym membership, you’re being ripped off. Unless you’re getting the red carpet treatment, like 4-5 training sessions a month, etc…your membership, just for a monthly dues, and a training session each month with someone, and unlimited access to the gym, should never cost more than $30. If you currently have a membership costing more than that for what I just listed, please go to their membership office and threaten to go elsewhere, I guarantee you they will drop your fees. My membership each month is $16. That includes unlimited access to any gym Pure Fitness has in the valley, any time of day, one training session a month, which I don’t use, because I’m smarter than the average trainer at a gym, and unlimited access to classes in the gym. Mine is so cheap monthly because I put more money up front, but you don’t have to. My gym membership at 24 hour fitness was only $24 with nothing up front. I also would like to add, that cost is based on one person. If you have a family pass, etc, it will be more expensive for more people. But again, I know someone with five people on their membership paying about $100 a month, that’s $20 a head!**
Okay, rant over. I usually hop on the treadmill at the gym for 20-30 minutes. I run hard so I don’t need a longer run, but I am going to start running longer to train for an olympic triathlon. That’s right, I’m not satisfied with a sprint, I want more. Eventually work my way up to the granddaddy of them all, the ironman triathlon.
After that, I hit the weights. I use free weights mostly for upper body, and stationary weights for lower body. It just is what it is. I alternate days on upper and lower, and usually some days of the week I don’t even do weights, I give my body time to rest, but still do cardio. My weight lifting usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour. This is because I give myself rest in between each rep. 1 minute long and 2 minute rest between set of muscles. On days when I’m training for a race, I’ll also hop on the bike after a workout. Or go for a ride. Other days I”ll stay at the apartment gym and go swimming first, then weights, then a bike ride or run.
So more specifically, what do I do in the gym exactly? I’m an avid follower of bodyforlife.com, so I use their workout regime very closely, to see what an exercise is, google it! Here’s an example:
Upper Body
20-30 minute run or pool swim, laps
20-30 minute bike if training for race
45-1hour weights (I do four reps of one exercise, increasing weight each time, but decreasing reps, the goal is to hit your high where you can barely lift the heaviest weight, then I drop the weight down a little and do maximum reps, for that weight, increasing strength, then I do one rep at about the same weight of another exercise. Basically it’s 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 12 reps (at a lower weight than the maximum weight you could do), and 12 reps). Between the fifth and sixth time, there is no rest.
1)Dumbbell flyes
2)Dumbbell Bench Presses
1)Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns
2)Straight Arm Pulldowns
1)Lateral Raises
2)Seated Dumbbell Presses
1)Barbell Curls
2)Hammer Curls
1)Bench Dips
2)Lying Triceps Presses
Lower body
20-30 minute swim or bike
Weights
20-30 minute run or swim
1)Leg presses
2)Leg extensions
1)Lying leg curls
2)Dumbbell lunges
1)Standing heel raises
2)Standing calf raises
1)Abdominal crunches
2)Floor crunches
The end...the journey was great, but the finish line was awesome.
After the way the day went, this post seems almost anti-climatic. I mean the day was awesome. The whole atmosphere about it.
You know, someone once told me that a triathlete is champion when they cross the finish line. Not the first place winner only, endurance running takes guts, it takes you to places you never thought you’d go. So, yes. I am a triathlete champion. Not many people can say they did a triathlon, although anyone can do it. Yes anyone. It just takes training.
So…the day started out like any normal day for me actually, except I got up 45 minutes earlier than I usually do. At 4:00am. So much for those nightmares about oversleeping. I was easily on time. Although, if you ask Lissa (my friend who’s house I slept at the night before to make sure I arrived on time), she’ll tell you I was sure we were going to be late because we left 20 minutes later than I wanted. We arrived at 5:45 perfectly. Which was when the transition area opens.
For those who don’t know, the transition area is where you set up your bike, and your equipment and clothes needed for the bike and run. This is where you change (although not out of your clothes) into your gear for each segment. Crowded, definitely. There was over 500 participants in the race.
I’d been nervous all week, and I thought I got over the jitters on race day. Nope, ask Lissa or Tara (coach) how I was day of, I was a nervous wreck. The night before I almost forgot socks! and a water bottle! But the day of was even worse. I picked up my timing chip (which is used to track your time). And proceeded to try and keep my mind off the daunting task I was about to do. No easy task when you’re 147th in line. Which means 146 participants went before me.
They called our numbers in groups of 20. So it was about 7:30 before I even lined up. I wasn’t sure about what time I finally took off but Tara told me it was a little before 8:00am. I got in the pool, and it was nippy, not cold, but nippy. Adrenaline took over though and I was fine. I should mention at this point, that three days earlier I tore a muscle in my shoulder. So I was doing freestyle swimming with a bad shoulder. It didn’t hurt, surprisingly. Which I can chalk up to adrenaline. Because as soon as I exited the pool, it started burning and tingling. At least I was able to muddle through the swimming. It was a struggle. Not because I was out of shape, because I wasn’t. It was because when I trained in the pool alone, the water wasn’t as angry and loud as it is when it had 30-40 swimmers in there with me. So when I was trying to get air, I would usually end up swallowing water. So by my 4th lap (out of 12) I was already winded because of no air. The girl behind me was 10 years old! Her parents were running with her too. But holy moley she was a rocket! She passed me by my second lap. I wonder where she finished. There is one thing I would change about this part. The goal is to do 2 laps up and down each lane. There are 6 lanes, so you have one swimmer or multiple swimmers going in the opposite direction of each other head on. There were plenty of collisions including me with one guy where our hands locked up. But no one got mad, it is what it is. There sh ould have been 12 lanes, would have been better.
I completed the swim part in about 15 minutes. This is the part I perceived to be the hardest before the race, because of my shoulder and it’s my weakness. I got to the transition area for the bike segment and had trouble getting my shirt on because I was still wet, was driving me nuts. My number actually came undone so I lost precious seconds fixing that. Then my bike gloves weren’t cooperating and I was exasperated. I finally sat down, closed my eyes for a few seconds and took a few deep breathes ,and went back to work getting my shoes and helmet on, much easier.
The bike course is 3 laps on the road, from Thompson Peak Parkway and Union Hills, to Bell Road/Thompson Peak, to 94th/Bell Road, to 94th/Union Hills, and back to the beginning. The first half of the course was a breeze on the first lap, as I expected, and I actually passed a few bikers. Then came the long challenging bike climb for almost 2 miles from 94th to Thompson Peak. It isn’t so steep as it is long and I overestimated my strength. Instead of a 1.0 climb, I would say it was a 4.0 climb. I didn’t train for it properly. I got through the first lap, with minimal ease. On the second lap, I started getting sick from lack of oxygen I believe. I wanted to throw up, I actually allowed (and I kick myself for this) the thought “quit” to enter my mind for a half second. I quickly berated myself for this. Tara suggested I come up with a mantra to repeat to myself when things got tough. It did, at one point I was giong to pull over and puke and then continue on. But I kept going. My mantra was “Live”. This stems from my favorite quote, which is:
“It’s tough to do, but you’ve got to work at living, you know? Most people work at dying, but anybody can die; the easiest thing on this earth is to die. But to live takes guts; it takes energy, vitality, it takes thought…. We have so many negative influences out there that are pulling us down…. You’ve got to be strong to overcome these adversities… that’s why I never stop.”
I also kept reminding myself why I couldn’t stop. I trained too hard for too long to give up now and then another quote entered my mind:
“You’re running on guts. On fumes. Your muscles twitch. You throw up. You’re delirious. But you keep running because there’s no way out of this hell you’re in, because there’s no way you’re …not crossing the finish line. It’s a misery that non-runners don’t understand.”
Yea, after all this, there was no way I wasn’t going to finish this race, even if I had to crawl across the finish line. So I started counting down the turns. I would have to make 12 of them before I was done. Finally, the second climb came, and I just leaned forward on my bike, closed my eyes for a bit and started pedaling and downshifting to conserve energy. Then, as the second lap was completed, all pain and feeling to puke was gone. It wasn’t until after the race that I realized I had hit a runners high. This is when most people stop, when they feel they can’t go any further. Just beyond that agonizing pain, is a high so extreme I can’t describe it. Nothing hurts anymore, you feel like you could run or bike or swim forever. I breezed through the final lap, and was finally done with the bike part. I would proclaim this part, which I said was my strongest suit before the race, the hardest part after the race. I entered the transition area, and I WAS EXHAUSTED. My legs were shaking. But again, I would crawl if I have to, because the worst feeling in the world is not finishing the race. I was going to do it one way or another. I switched shows, put on my hat and sunglasses, and started out of the transition area. I couldn’t get anything going. And then it happened. I was told to expect it, but I didn’t expect it to hurt that much. I cramped up, and my hamstring started aching. I hadn’t even ran .2 miles yet. I stopped for a few seconds and massaged my hamstring, a volunteer came by and said “rub it out, it’ll go away, get going!” (in a supportive way, of course). The first half of the run is all uphill, and I do mean all UPHILL. A 3.0 incline. I half ran half walked it, I couldn’t get my legs to go that far.
I finally reached the halfway point. and it was time to turn around. At this point, I couldn’t feel anything in my legs anymore. No pain. So I started running. 1.5 miles later, I could hear the emcee and the crowd growing louder and louder. I am the type of athlete that absolutely feeds on the energy of a crowd. I didn’t realize when the final stretch came that I was all alone. I was expecting a runner who was catching up to me to come and pass me, but she didn’t. Not sure what happened, she might have ran out of gas. Anyway, I was keeping my head down to focus on the last stretch and I heard the emcee say it, wasn’t expecting it but he said “and here comes No. 147 ladies and gentlemen!” I’ve heard stories, read books, about how it feels once you hit the ticker tape (finish line). But it didn’t prepare me for it and I hit it, and it was amazing. Impossible to explain. You have to experience it.
And then my body realized it was over and my legs started shaking and I lost my balance. Tara got me some water while Lissa stayed with me. I was looking for my mom. But later found out she tried to call. She had a flat tire as she left Tucson to come to Scottsdale. She had arrived about a half hour to an hour earlier, but they told her to go to the lobby. She never saw me finish. None the less, it was nice of her to come up.
The hard part was over, bask in the glory of your finish. I got a free massage from the cortiva institute. It was at this point that I was told that I most likely tore a muscle in my shoulder earlier that week. Ah, oh well, race over. I beat my self down and preconceived limits.
The rest of the day was spent with my mom (eating out for a short time) and friends. I have high ambitions. This is not over. I want to run a half marathon (13 miles) a full marathon (26 miles), an olympic triathlon (twice as long as the sprint), a half ironman (twice as long as the olympic) and a full ironman (150 miles biking, 26 miles running, 3-4 miles swimming). But that’s for another day of training. For today, I rest, and I enjoy the thoughts of the day.
September 12, 2009. Much like March 9, 2009 will go down in history for me. March 9, 2009 was the day I said enough is enough and committed to a new lifestyle. September 12, 2009 is when I will officially put it all on the line for the first time and see if how hard I have worked for six months is successful. My first triathlon. I admit, I am nervous, but a type of nervous that inspires us to do great things, to push beyond what is our preconceived limit. I no longer fear this triathlon. I have trained for it, I have honed my biking swimming and running abilities, there is no doubt in my mind that I can finish this. But I’m still nervous, as we all are when we try something new.
On a positive note ,a friend of mine who is listening to me and following my training method, did her first weigh-in this week and has lost 3 pounds. HIGH FIVE!! It gives me great joy to see others work toward their goals and succeed.
So, without further ado:
March 9, 2009: 325 pounds, 35% of it was fat. PURE FAT.
April 9, 2009: 295.8 pounds (-29.2 pounds lost)
May 9, 2009: 280.6 pounds (-15.2 pounds lost)
June 9, 2009: 271.6 pounds (-9.0 pounds lost)
July 9, 2009: 263.8 pounds (-7.8 pounds lost)
August 1, 2009: 260.2 pounds (-3.6 pounds lost) **THIS WAS THE HALFWAY POINT IN THE CHALLENGE*
August 9, 2009: 258.0 (pounds (-2.2 pounds lost)
September 9, 2009: 243.6 (-14.4 pounds lost)
After frustrating month in early August, I turned up the heat and have knocked out -14.4 pounds since August 9th. Probably the most important thing was my body fat, it is now at 24%, I have eliminated 11% of pure body fat. That is the most important thing.
People always ask me, why do I run, why do I put myself through 50-mile bike rides and swim until I can no longer breathe normally. I tell them its because running, swimming, and biking, there are no competitors. Yes, you have other runners, but the true competitor is your self-doubt. Your inability to see past your own shortcomings. All the time when I talk about the triathlon, people tell me “I’m amazed at you, I could never put myself through that or do it.” IT IS POSSIBLE, 6 months ago I said the same thing. It’s the way of thinking that must, ABSOLUTELY MUST change in everyone. This is why we run. Every time I shatter a personal best, I look back 6 months ago and I’m amazed at how much self doubt I had. I believe I can do anything now. This is why we run. Running gives you confidence in your ability, and takes you places team sports can’t do. You have only yourself to rely on, only yourself to blame if you fail. And trust me, if you come up short, it’s the worst feeling in the world, but you also get back up, one more time, each time, until you do it. And if you’ve never failed, or met someone who has never failed, I’ll show you a person who has never tried to push beyond their limits. Because without failure, how can you know the pure joy of success, and the agony of defeat? If you know not defeat, success means nothing. THAT is why I run.
Next week, September 14th will be a big day, it marks 100 days left in the challenge. It’ll probably also coincide with my triathlon post.
If you asked me five months ago if I was going to attempt my first triathlon in September 2009, I’d say you’re high or drunk. But, sure enough, that’s exactly what I’m doing on September 12, 2009. I’ll be participating in a sprint triathlon to help raise funds for the Special Olympics. If you’d like to donate to the cause to help me reach my goal of $250, go to http://soazsprinttriathlon.kintera.org/rvanover
A sprint triathlon is the shortest of triathlons. The swim is 300 yards (swimming is not my strongest suit so this is the one I’m most nervous about), the bike run is 13 miles, and the run is 3.1 miles. I am not at all concerned about the bike part, and relatively confident on the run, it’s the first leg of the triathlon that concerns me the most, and it’s the shortest part too!
I’m excited about it though, if you told me five months ago that I’d be addicted to exercise, running, swimming, biking…I’d also say you’re drunk or high. But it is what it is. I went to REI (a store that sells outdoor equipment) yesterday to buy a bike, got a nice one, spent a little dough, but worth it. The salesman that I worked with mentioned that he is a triathlete too, and he went into detail how he’s going to do a ironman triathlon for the first time in November! Now an ironman triathlon is the longest of triathlons (2 miles swimming, 113 miles biking, and 26 miles running). To put in perspective exactly how tough it is to do an ironman triathlon: A marathon run is 26 miles, you’re now adding 113 miles biking and two miles swimming. It takes the average person about 10-12 hours to complete it. A sprint triathlon takes the average person about 2 hours, and I hope to keep my time at about 2 hours to 2 and a half hours.
I’ll be back in September to tell you how it went, wish me luck!
Also, it dawned on me that I didn’t put down stats for July, so here they are:
July 6, 2009: 268.8 (-1.6)
July 13, 2009: 261.2 (-7.6)
July 20, 2009: 260.6 (-0.6)
July 27, 2009: 260.4 (-0.2)
Til next time, keep on hanging on!
Ya know, back in the day when food was like a hard drug to me, I’d hear people talk about the “transformation” from who they were to who they’d become or were becoming. Personally, at the time, I thought they were full of it. I mean, I was SURE that people never changed. Who you were 10 years ago, is who you are today, and the prick you were 5 years ago is the same prick you will be today. Those of you who knew me at Gallaudet, and even ASDB, and even before that, can vouch for my transformation, even those of you who knew me a mere year ago. The person I was a mere five months ago is not the person I am today.
I am not perfect, I ain’t never gonna be. But we spend our whole lives chasing perfection in everything we do, having the perfect body, throwing the perfect game in baseball, chasing perfection in school/work/home life, etc, etc, etc…..
I have come to a few conclusions over the last five months, but there is one conclusion that ties it all together: THE CHASE FOR PERFECTION IS A MISTAKE. Read that again, perfection is a flaw. Who decides what perfect is? What is perfect for me will not be perfect for the next man. In baseball, a perfect game means no runs, no hits, no errors, no one left on base, no walks, no hit by pitches, quite literally, 27 batters up, 27 batters down. But, doesn’t perfection mean you have to throw 3 strikes and you’re out every time, and if they get a hit (fly ball or ground out), doesn’t that mean you weren’t perfect? True perfection in baseball is 81 strikes thrown, 27 strikeouts. Guess what? In the history of baseball, that has never happened. Who’s to say that my body physique at peak condition should be 180 pounds? Let me tell you, I know what 180, 6’1″ looks like, they’re scrawny as hell. If you’re attempting to be perfect at home, or work, what are you losing in other parts of your life because you dedicate perfection to one part?
I have been mulling over this for the last week, and the mood struck. I am not perfect, I won’t never be. My life is not perfect, I have a great job, my body is getting on track, my personal life is coming together, but there are things missing. Things that I can live without, but would rather have. Things that the next person have but don’t have the good job, health, etc…but they have what they want, and so it’s perfect to them.
So, this brings me back to my point. The “transformation” from who you were to who you want to be, ought to be. Life, for me, is much clearer, happier, more fun. As a friend once said, “focus on the important things in your life, and the rest will fall into place.” That’s what struck my mood tonight. Quite interesting, and true. I know this blog is cheesy, but hey, the mood strikes, and people are starting to listen to what I have to say. Not that I’m 100% right, just that I wanted to share with you.
So instead of chasing perfection, this is what I suggest: STRIVE TO BE ALL THAT YOU CAN/WANT TO BE, AND BE HAPPY, THAT IS PERFECTION.
