Thirteen point one and done!

Current Stats NA

I was planning on weighing in this week as a baseline, but my weight once again varied a whole bunch this week. I will eat right this week and establish my new baseline next week.

I had a great experience running my first half marathon. Not that it was easy, but I am glad I reached what I thought was unreachable goal for myself. I learned a lot about myself along the way and even during the race.

It all started out early Saturday morning. We boarded buses to take us up to the start line. Barbara was good enough to get up early and drive me there. I really appreciated the support. This race ended up have close to 3,000 people enter. There was a line of buses and I got in the line and got on board. The bus was full and there were many who were excitedly chatting while others were sitting quietly. For me it was a lot more emotional than I thought it would be. It was hard not to cry as we drove on some streets that I had done my prep work on, realizing I was on my way to face a big challenge that I had been training for for weeks. This meant I lot more to me than I had realized.

We got off the buses at Theater in the Pines parking lot, not far from one of the Timpanogos Trail Heads. It was quite cold and there was still a bit of snow around from a storm that had come through earlier in the week. Here I was at the start, but I still had about two hours to go until the starting gun sounded. They had a heated tent that filled up as the morning went on. I found a place near the back and waited. A lot of people wore costumes. This was the Halloween Half and costumes were encouraged. I am not much of a costume wearer anyway, especially not in my first half marathon!

After a long wait, both for the start and the lines for the bathrooms, we were all ready to start. I lined up near the back were there was a pacer for a time of finishing in two and a half hours. That's the quickest I thought I could finish, but I would be happy if I was done by three hours.

Between a late start and all of the runners, I didn't get past the start line until after 15 minutes of when we were scheduled to start. Not far from the start, I could tell that someone had fallen. I was trying to watch out between all the people around me, not to step on the downed runner when suddenly I went down in probably the same big hole she fell in! Luckily, I had my running gloves on and long running pants and averted disaster myself. I got scraped up a bit but was able to get right back up. The girl that went down was being helped off and I heard her say, "I heard something pop!" I knew what that meant having heard that noise come from my own ankle before. I felt bad for her, having to drop out of the race before it even started and was grateful I had avoided the same fate!

The first part of the race was quite steep. I was glad I had put duct tape on my feet as suggested. I think I would have had blisters coming down at that incline if I hadn't. I passed my pacers without much effort realizing that I would slow down later. It was a quick run down past Sundance and to the intersection with the Provo Canyon road.

As many of you know, Provo Canyon is a well traveled highway. They had been stopping traffic to get the runners over to the other side of the canyon. By the time I got down there, they made the runners stop to get the backed up traffic a chance to get my. We waited quite a while until they stopped them again and they let us cross to continue the race.

We ran on the road for a bit until we hit the tunnels. Some of my neighbors were helping at the aid station there and it was fun to see their surprised faces as they handed my water. It was a bit of a lift. We then headed down to Vivian Park to where we were directed onto the Provo River trail for the rest of the run.

About a mile down from the park, I kept leap frogging a runner who would run and then walk. I tried to encourage anyone I passed my telling them they were doing good. We were about half way at this point and fatigue was setting in to many. After passing her another time, next thing I knew, she was running along side me and without saying much we paced each other. After about a mile, I struck up a conversation and found out that she lived just a couple of streets away from me. We stuck together for several miles and chatted which helped both of us take our minds of the pain. With about two miles left, she had to stop and walk, so I slowly went on. I had another conversation for a while with a guy about my age from Heber. Those talks really helped! As I was approaching the last mile, I was really bonking bad and it was all I could do to move my feet, when much to my surprise, the girl that had been running with my pulled even with me. It really helped us both I think to turn out of the canyon and make the homestretch down to the finish line. As I approached the finish line, I became emotional as I could see not only the finish line, but my sweet wife and my youngest daughter. I didn't have the words to explain how much it meant to me to have them there!

Running has become an important part of my life. I have learned a lot about myself and have learned that I can do much more than I thought I could. For me, running is a way of looking at yourself. It strips you down to your emotional and physical limits. You get a glimpse of what you are really like deep down inside.

Thanks for all of your encouragement. I have said this quite frequently, but it has made a big difference for me. More than once during the race, I thought about being able to report back to you all that I had finished the race! It was quite motivating to keep going! Andy and Bill, thanks for supporting all of the runners on the race! It was nice to know that friends we helping to make it happen. Great job Hillary on keeping after it! You look great! Hope the rest of you are doing what you need to to keep yourselves healthy and happy! Hang in there and I will too!

Countdown to Half Time!

Current Stats - N/A

I am on one week reporting hiatus since I am focused on the race this week and once again my weight was varied up and down six pounds this week. Next week I will do a reset and start the last leg of the weight loss journey.

I have been trying to decide if I should run a marathon. My decision will be based on two things. 1) How I feel after completing the half-marathon this Saturday. 2) If I am going to to run a marathon, I need to be at least at my goal weight. I think it would be too taxing on my body if I trained at a heavier weight than that.

Last Thursday, I did my last long run for training. It was 12 miles. I had a better perspective of how far 12 miles is because I decided on the fly to take a different route. I headed down 8th East and then ran down University Parkway. I turned back north at the intersection of University Parkway and University Avenue and headed over to the mouth of Provo Canyon. I still had about 3 miles left to do after all that distance! It made me appreciate how far 12 miles is when you are running.

My long run was a bit early in the week. That's because we took the Scouts to Goblin Valley. It was fun to be in shape to explore and have fun with them. There was also a ultra-marathon going on and a 10K run as well. We tried to encourage the runners as we encountered them. It was extra hard among the hoodoos because recent rains had turned the clay in to a slick and sticky mess. I slipped once just walking and can imagine that the runners really had to watch their steps.

Wish me luck for the run this weekend. Excited and nervous all at the same time. Shout outs to all those who ran the race down at Goblin Valley! What an inspiration! Thanks to Andy who came with us on the Scout trip and gave me lots of great pointers for the upcoming half! Hang in there and I will too!

The Long Haul

Weekly Stats
Current: 204.0
Weekly Gain: .4
To Go: 29.0
Total 121.0

Bad news on the scale again this week, but the gain was not as dramatic as last week. I am still focused on the training for the half on the 30th.

I ran 11 miles for my long run on Saturday. It was a tough run, but I made it and am optimistic for success when I run the real thing. I need to run a 12 miler for my last long training run. I would normally do this on Saturday, but we are taking the Scouts out this weekend and won't be getting back until early evening on Saturday. I would be a mess if I delayed the run until then. So my plan is to do my long run early Thursday morning.

I almost signed up for a marathon last week, but it filled up 6 hours before I was ready to click the button. There is another marathon a few weeks later, but this one doesn't fill up as quickly. I will make a decision on whether to run a marathon or not after I have run the half. Anyone out there had any experience running a full marathon?

After the half, I am going to focus on getting the rest of this weight off. It will be good to get it off. I feel so much better now having over 120 lbs off and I know that getting the last 30 off will be even better. It is weird to say, but I am actually looking forward to losing the weight in spite of the pain involved.

A shout out to Janet and her husband for getting back into getting the weight off. It's hard to start back up after a diversion! Way to go! Bill ran the St. George in spite of an injury! Nice Bill! Hillary is looking great after her weight loss! Whooohoooo! Hang in there and I will too!

Nothing to Lose

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.6
Weekly Gain: 1.8
To Go: 28.6
Total 121.4

I am still up and down on my weight. Can't seem to get down below 200 again. Though I am looking forward to the half marathon in a couple of weeks, I will be glad to get back into an increased emphasis on getting my weight down. I seriously will bounce up and down from 5 to 8 lbs each week since I started training. You would think with as much work as I am putting in that the pounds would melt off, but it's not the case. I have a feeling that once I get back into my previous training and mix it up a bit that things will be more consistent.

I was going to hike Timp once last time this last Saturday, but we had a cool-down in the weather. Timp has had snow on the top for several days, not a whole lot, but it would probably would have been a bit sloppy. I decided to hike Big Baldy going up Dry Canyon and coming back down Battle Creek. I estimated about 10 miles and it ended up being over 11.5 miles. I think that this hike is harder than Timp. Even though it is less mileage, it is quite steep and the heart rate is high most of the time.

Thanks again for the encouragement. Keep up the good work everyone! Hang in there and I will too!

Hiking in Circles

Weekly Stats
Current: 201.6
Weekly Loss: 0.6
To Go:
26.8 Total 123.2

I have to make a disclaimer on my weight. It is still jumping around quite a bit, so I am taking my best weight loss day over a four day period (Friday - Monday). I have logged my food intake this last week and it has really helped.

I ran 10 miles on my long run on Saturday. I was concerned going into this run weather it would be tough like my eight mile run or great like my 10 mile run. It turned out to be a mixture of both. Between mile two and three, I did not feel good and thought it might last the whole time, but as soon as I hit the canyon and headed up things started getting better. By the time I hit my turn-around point and was able to go downhill from there, I felt pretty good. I even had an eye opener for me.

I had been reading some other blogs and saw how many focused on just the physical challenges of losing weight. Many challenged themselves to a certain amount of miles over a stated period of time, but not many set many dietary goals over the same period. I had a epiphany about when people get lost, they tend to travel in circles. This happens because we usually have a dominant leg. One leg is usually stronger than the other and without a sense of direction the one leg over the course of time leads us back to where we started from.

I think this is true if we dominate on either diet or exercise without setting goals in the other. We can make great headway with our health and fitness by lifting or aerobic exercise, but if we don't watch our diets, our appetites increase and it doesn't take much to undo the calories we burned while exercising. The opposite is true as well. If we just focus on dieting, we lose weight, but we suffer physically because we lose not only fat, but muscle as well. When the diet is over, we can gain the fat back, but not much muscle in the process so we are worse off than when we started. We need to stay balanced on both fronts. We need to have good physical goals and challenges, but we need to watch what is going into our bodies as well. Feed your body what it needs, in portions that are appropriate for you height and weight.

Shout out to Hillary who reached her weight goal. Great job! Bill H. completed the St. George Marathon (his 7th!) in spite of having a recent injury! Wow Bill, way to go! Thanks Mom for the great article on Drew Carey! He is inspirational in what he has done. Thanks for keeping mee motivated Mom! Hang in there and I will too!

9 miler

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.4
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.4
Total 122.6

It has been hard to lose weight with the extra training that I have done. I am trying to keep my body fueled and repaired with the extra work, but it hasn't led to much of a weight loss. I am going to commit to keeping track of my intake with a food journal for the next two weeks to make sure I am not eating too much. I do need to be careful though that I am eating the right types of food as well. Hopefully next week will see better progress in losing weight. I read a little blurb that said that tracking calories has a much bigger impact in weight loss than exercising does. Exercising is essential, but the calories that you burn in a workout can easily be undone by unwise food choices.

Two weeks ago, I ran eight miles for my long run. It was the hardest run I have done in a long time. Friday, my nine mile run was just the opposite. It was a challenge, but I felt good most of the run. I kept hydrated and also kept fueled. It didn't take much to keep my energy up and it sure helped me keep going.

A big shout out to Hillary! Lost 10 lbs and looks great! Way to go! Proud of you! Phil is keeping after it and seems to be enjoying life! Bill, I hope you heal up quick and can run this weekend! Good luck. Keep working hard everyone. Hang in there and I will too!

Timp II

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.6
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.6
Total 122.4

Saturday was my official hike Timp day. Last spring, I had about 5 people express interest in hiking, but by the time the hike came, no one could go. I just felt like I needed to stick to my commitment of hiking. I blogged earlier about the hike I did a few weeks back on the Aspen Grove trail. This Saturday I went up the Timponokee trail. It is amazing how many people hike Timp from this trail head. I got there shortly before 6am in the dark and the lot was already full. I parked out on the road and had to hike to even get to the trail head. The first part of the hike was with a headlamp on. After about 45 minutes it was light enough to see without it and I was able to see the fall colors. It was a beautiful morning and I made good time without having to stop much. This trail was not as steep, but it was a bit longer. I made it to the summit about 10am. Even though the day was forecast into the 90's, it was still cold as the wind blew up on top. I ate a sandwich and headed back down. I figure I cut between a half to a full hour from my last hike. I was glad I went. The biggest contrast for me between the two trails was, the Aspen Grove hike left me exhausted, but very sore. This hike left me sore, but not near as exhausted.

I have not given up on my goal of getting down to 175. I have found though that when you are training at longer distances, that it is hard to cut back much calorie wise. You put the body through so much, that it needs to be fueled during training and recovered from what you are asking it to do. I need to be patient and make sure that I continue to eat right. After the half marathon I can focus in a bit more on losing this last 25 or so lbs.

Things are kind of quiet on the shout out end of things. It's not that people aren't doing great things I'm sure. It's that I just haven't heard about them. I did notice that Phil is continuing to log great workouts. Great job Phil!!! Thanks as always for the support and encouragement. So many people have been kind to me so a big shout out to you all! Hang in there and I will too!