Well, with a couple of weeks left to go, I decided to look at how I’m doing this year. Hmm. I guess there’s a reason you haven’t heard from me since Thanksgiving.
The good news is that I think I can make 200 miles this year. A little off my 1500 mile year in 2009, but hey, who’s counting?
Thanksgiving is always a festive time at the Jones household. This old man gets to dust off the apron and put together a feast for the family that gathers at the abode. The morning starts out with a relaxing cup of coffee. It doesn’t hurt that it was forecast to be a sunny 80 degrees.
The fun and festivities start about 10 in the morning with some hickory chips soaking in water. I use these to smoke the turkey.
Yes. Smoked turkey. On the charcoal BBQ. One of the perks of living in Southern California:
The real fun starts around 2, when I get working on the standard fare and then throw in one or two new dishes for variety:
Prime rib:
Green bean casserole:
Stuffing:
Candied squash (I prefer squash to yams):
For variety this year, I threw in an asparagus, tomato and feta salad. Steam some tender asparagus so that it is tender, but firm. Heat about a tablespoon of EVO in a large skillet, toss together the asparagus with some halved grape tomatoes until heated through, and then sprinkle some feta cheese on your concoction:
The second new dish this year was soyccotash. Just like it sounds. Succotash with edamame instead of lima beans. Delish!
Just about time the all the fixin’s are done, it was time to take the turkey off the BBQ:
Mmmm mmmm if I say so myself! Dinner at 5!
Oh. And I made it out for a stroll around the neighborhood too:
Thursday:
Mileage: 2.66 @ 16:24
Saturday:
Mileage: 2.66 @ 16:20.
Now that the “big day” is over – time to start tracking the calories again. I sure hope the damage from the past couple days is salvageable!
I’m still here. It only took five weeks for me to remember to lace up my shoes. Got out for 2.7 miles on Saturday and a mile on Sunday.
Still trying to be methodical about calorie tracking.
At least I’m still doing the motions even though I’m not making progress…
Somewhere along the way I got lost. Since this blog is my line of accountability, I figured I should fess up.
So, starting today, it’s back to work.
Goals:
Ok. Off my a**.
So, it's been two weeks since I last hit the sidewalks for any type of excercise. I'm not sure "The Running Fat Guy" applies. Oh well. at least I 've been watching the calories. Cinched the belt one more hole last week.
More to come....
I’m limping along…
Wednesday
Distance: 2.66 miles @16:44
Calories: –377
Thursday
Distance: 0
Calories: +528
Friday:
Distance: 0
Calories: Date night! Tried out Lark Creek. Shared an awesome whole roasted cauliflower and a mushroom gruyere turnover.
Saturday:
Distance: 2.65 miles @ 16:23
Calories: –231
Sunday:
Distance: No distance, but spent two hours mowing my parent’s lawn. Way more exercise than a neighborhood walk.
Calories: Chinese buffet negated any calorie burn from the lawn mowing!
So – I’m making some progress. Now to dig for some motivation to keep it up. How about this from an old running buddy this past weekend?
But alas. Not for me. It was this weekend 4 years ago that I ran my last organized race – the Long Beach Half. I reminisced about that death march on my way to my office this morning. All the street barriers neatly stacked on the side of the streets in Long Beach. All the port-a-potties lined up like soldiers at Rainbow Lagoon. Ah yes. 3 frickin 07. For 13.1 miles.
After that I made a couple of half hearted attempts to get back on track. I can blame it on runner’s knee and motivation that went on holiday, but in reality the issue that resulted in the downfall was this. And this.
I wish I could say that I loved running. But in reality, it was a means to an end. And the end was to get me in shape to get up that big hill. Once that was done, my reason for running kind of went away. I have a hobby that I think is a lot more fun (in case you saw some cross posts from my other blog a few days ago). The final straw is now that I am back to working for someone instead of for myself, the availability of time is certainly minimized.
So, the bottom line is if I’m ever going to get back into race shape, I’m going to need something to motivate me because running for the sake of running isn’t it. I have some things in mind. Now to see if I have commitment. And about 20 fewer pounds. Stay tuned.
Monday
Distance: 2.65 mi @ 16:31
Calories: –551
Tuesday
Distance: 0
Calories: +36
And I don’t mean weight wise. Long nights at work last week, followed by fighting a cold this week means exercise has pretty much been an after thought. This cold has me a little down in the dumps. Right now it’s just a slight sore throat and fatigue. Hopefully it won’t progress much more.
Food tracking has also been sporadic. I’m trying to keep the calorie count down, but I’m not being too successful. For example, I’m over by 300 today. Yesterday was Mexican dinner, so I’m sure dinner alone blasted through my allowance. This is getting really discouraging. Isn’t there some type of magic pill I can take?
Oh well. Back on the horse this week. It’s 9PM now. That means bedtime soon. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Life (work) has gotten in the way this last week. Had some major hours last week that kept me off the paths during the week. Then a big poker session on Saturday night that saw me getting to bed about the time I should have been hitting the trails. Oh well.
I'm tracking calories, but not doing an especially good job of it. Kind of afraid to hit the scales.
Talk soon!
Hey folks. No posting in a week because there's been no activity. As mentioned in an earlier post, there are a couple or three weeks every year where you could mistake Southern California for Miami. Well, maybe not that bad - more like DC. Well, maybe not that bad either. But you get the point. Hurricane season is not something that only happens in the Gulf of Mexico, but also in the eastern Pacific. As you probably heard, there was a big hurricane that hit the southern end of Baja California and decided to track northwest toward the U.S. Luckily for us, we hardly ever get the full force of a hurricane but we are affected.
For me, the main impact was heat and humidity the likes that I'm not used to. Since I'm not training, it's an easy decision to forgo exercise for comfort. Not all is lost though because unfortunately I still have to watch the calories. Without that 40 minutes of activity, it becomes a challenge by the end of the day when the calorie allotment is gone!
Stay tuned though. Weather appears back to normal, so I'll be updating here soon.
Wow. I hadn’t realized that I hadn’t posted in a week. I’m keeping up with calorie tracking (not always successfully tracking to my goal) and I’m getting out at least a couple evenings a week for a brisk walk around the neighborhood.
Normally, I would have been out in the hills on Sunday for 5 or 6 miles. Despite all the crap I give everyone about weather everywhere else, there are a few weeks every year where we here in Southern California get to suffer through heat and humidity that gets close to some what many of you live with all the time. This weekend was one of those. Hurricane Norbert is spinning a few hundred miles south of here, and while we didn’t get rain (that’s reserved for Arizona and New Mexico), we did get heat and humidity. For example, the forecast for Sunday (next to the ocean) was 92 degrees for a high with 60% humidity. Compare that to our seasonal average of 72 degrees.
Instead, I stuck to the neighborhood loop. When I was done I was literally able to wring my shirt out. So uncharacteristic for Southern California….
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: ??? (Obviously took a myfitnesspal holiday too)
Tuesday
Distance: 2.66 @ 15:51
Calories: 132 deficit
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 427 over
Thursday
Distance: 2.66 @ 16:31
Calories: 118 deficit
Friday
Distance: 0
Calories: 4 deficit
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: 112 over
Sunday
Distance: 2.66 @ 14:52
Calories: 258 deficit
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 26 deficit
Sunday weigh in: Down 1 pound (Yea! Moving in the right direction)
Another week in the book. Made it out into the hills for a short 4 miler on Sunday morning. Had grilling to deal with later in the day….
Friday
Distance: 2.66 @ 15:44
Calories: 476 deficit
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: Out for the day. Calories not logged
Sunday:
Distance: 4 @ 16:07
Calories: 24 deficit
Sunday weigh-in: Down 1 lb. Hopefully I’m back on the right track.
What think ye?
http://www.monolake.org/today/2014/08/28/theres-still-time-to-register-for-the-tioga-pass-run/
This race is through, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful scenery in California…
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 201 over
Thursday
Distance: 0 (not really, but I didn’t have tracking device on)
Calories: 395 over (yikes!)
Hadn’t realized that I had not posted for over a week. Oops!
Tuesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 224 deficit
Wednesday
Distance: 2.66 @ 16:05
Calories: 294 deficit
Thursday
Distance: 0
Calories: 2 over
Friday
Distance: 0
Calories: ??? (Friday night family dinner)
Saturday
Distance: 2.65 @ 16:14
Calories: 97 deficit
Sunday
Distance: 0 (stomach issues made it, errrm, “inconvenient” to head out)
Calories: 247 over (!)
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 30 over
Tuesday
Distance 2.65 @ 16:08
Calories: 307 deficit
There. Caught up. In the meantime, here’s a little something to pass the time:
Wait a minute. What’s happening? I’ve made it out the door for a bit of exercise three days in a row…
Friday
Distance: 0
Calories: 87 over
Saturday
Distance: 2.66 @ 16:11
Calories: ?? (Took the parents out for dinner)
Sunday
Distance: 2.67 @ 15:58
Calories: 191 deficit
Monday
Distance: 2.66 @ 17:10 (sure felt like less than 17:10)
Calories: 322 over (grrr)
Getting back to the task at hand after a couple week loss of discipline…
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 4 calorie deficit
Tuesday
Distance: 2.65 miles @ 16:47 per mile
Calories: 77 deficit
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 546 over (Did I mention lack of discipline?)
Thursday
Distance: 2.50 miles @ 16:58 per mile
Calories: 220 deficit
The weekend is upon us. Yea!
No. I haven’t run away. Got out a couple times this week, but nothing other than a couple of neighborhood loops.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday:
Distance: 0
Calories: ??? (Those entries were pretty easy).
Saturday:
Distance: 2.66 miles @ 16:42
Calories: 354 deficit
Sunday Weigh-in: Down one pound this week for a total of 10 pounds in 12 weeks.
Nose down…..
No miles this week. I did something to my lower back (just muscular – still stiff and painful though). Also big family party Friday night, so the calories (and I’m sure the weight) is all out of whack.
Will be back at it this week.
Wrapped up the week with 5 trail miles. Also got on the scale. Ugh.
Sunday:
Distance: 5.12 miles @ 16.32. Did Buck Gully – 700 ft elevation gain/loss, 77degrees, 80% humidity (yes – it happens in Southern California)
Calories: 375 deficit
Weekly weigh in: +2 lbs (did I say ugh?)
Monday:
Distance: 0
Calories: 80 deficit
Tuesday: No distance and no calories – family dinner party.
Distance: 0
Calories: ??
Wednesday:
Distance: 0
Calories: 272 over (oops!)
So – I bet you thought that this was going to be another “oops – was too busy this week” post, didn’t you? Well, I actually got my lazy ass out the door and got the calorie tracking back on track this week.
There are a couple of changes though. Seems that I wasn’t have too much trouble tracking to my old calorie targets, so I’ve decided to get a little more aggressive. Using myfitnesspal.com, I’ve targeted 1.5 lb per week loss, which puts me on a daily calorie target of 1790. I had a couple hiccups early this week, but toward the end of the week, I was able to fall into a bit more of a routine.
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 95 over goal
Tuesday:
Distance: 2.65 @ 15:36
Calories: 259 under goal
Wednesday:
Distance: 0
Calories: 388 over goal (oops!)
Thursday:
Distance: 0
Calories: 19 over goal
Friday:
Distance: 2.65 @ 16:12
Calories: 54 under goal
Next will be Sunday weigh in. I’ll see how many steps back I’ve taken the last three weeks.
So here it is – Friday. Not one entry in the blog. Which is not good news. I’ve ratcheted down the calorie allowance in my MyFitnessPal profile (i.e., trying to lose more per week), but have not been religious in tracking. Also, late night at poker on Tuesday, late night at work Wednesday, early night to bed Thursday (how does 8PM grab you?), and all of a sudden a week has passed without any time on the road/trail. I’m not looking forward to Sunday weigh-in!
Not to make more excuses, but we’ll be celebrating son’s birthday this evening and I’m playing in a big poker tournament on Saturday – so in reality the next time I’ll be able to get back on track will be Sunday. I’ll hold on until then!
Getting back on track has been postponed one week. I was traveling this week without a rental car. Forgot just how few restaurants are around Las Colinas. Forgot just how badly one can eat when relying on room service and food delivery. Forgot how many calories can be quaffed in airport terminals. Back at it this week.
Okay okay. So I took a week off. (And I was still brave enough to get on the scale Sunday).
The one thing I really want to keep in mind is the reason for coming back here. This time around it’s not about training and racing. I’m way too busy personally and professionally to commit the time required to do that. This time around it’s about losing the 40 pounds that I put on during the last two years. Soooo….
I’m not going to beat myself up over a missed jog. Like this past Sunday. I *did* head up to the hills with the intention of getting my weekly long wog in. But – here in Southern California, we’re suffering from a bit of our standard seasonal monsoonal flow. For us Southern Californians here in the L.A. area, the monsoons don’t mean thunderstorms, but it does mean heat and humidity. When I got up to Park Ridge a little after 8AM, it was already 78 degrees with stifling humidity. I was sweating after just putting my shoes on. Knowing it was only going to get worse, I decided to bag the run.
Instead, I came home, showered and got the Sunday weigh in in. The result? Gulp. A gain of a pound. Serves me right for also putting calorie tracking on the back shelf.
Instead of beating myself up for a missed run, I *will* beat myself up for being lax about tracking my food. Back on track this week!
I’ve kind of fallen off the tracks on the calorie tracking. The problem is I’m starting to find it difficult to guestimate portion size using My Fitness Pal. Exactly how many cups is 110g? Say what?
I’m finding that many of the items that I’ve been consuming are portioned this way. I need to figure this out.
I changed up my exercise routine yesterday too. Instead of a run, I went for a 30 minute walk at the beach. Day’s end captured SoCal style:
![20140702_195634[1]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-CIIaYfF6Za4/U7VVgf2wQgI/AAAAAAAAqO4/b_tVzbBGstk/s1600-h/20140702_195634%25255B1%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "20140702_195634[1]")
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: ??
Tuesday
Distance: 0
Calories: ??
Wednesday
Distance: ??
Calories: ??
Now to get back on track…
Wrapped up another week with a quick trip to Laguna Coast Wilderness.
I haven’t been as religious in my calorie tracking. This week’s results show.
Friday
Distance: 0
Calories: ??
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: ?? – but – had a big party for all the graduates in the family. One Master, 4 Bachelors, 1 High School:
Sunday
Distance: 6.12 miles @ 15:27
Calories:??
Sunday weigh in: Down 0.5 pounds. Not much, but still going in the right direction.
Wrapping up the week. Getting ready for the weekend. Shoes are already in the trunk:
Tuesday
Distance: 2.65 miles @ 14:24 per mile
Calories: 33 calorie deficit
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 33 calorie deficit
Thursday
Distance: 2.65 miles @ 14:04 per mile
Calories: 149 calorie deficit
Onward!
It happened Sunday. I gathered my gear and headed to Pacific Ridge. Got a prime parking spot (sometimes a challenge here), opened my trunk to change into my shoes and started searching. And searching. And searching. Hmm.
Needless to say, the run on Sunday didn’t happen.
Friday
Distance: 0
Calories: 323 over (yikes!)
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: Put away for the day. Enjoyed dinner at Morton’s (the Cajun spiced rib eye was the bomb!)
Sunday
Distance: 0
Calories: Got lazy
Sunday Weigh In: Down one pound. Down 6 pounds since tracking here started.
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 52 calorie deficit
By the way – shoes were on the floor in the family room – right where I left them….
Is officially over. Headed out late in the evening yesterday for my run/walk around the neighborhood.
Thursday
Distance: 2.66 miles @ 14:29 per mile
Calories: 219 deficit
Onward!
Took a day off work on Tuesday and that gave me an opportunity to head to the hills again. Did a four mile out and back in Buck Gully.
Tuesday
Distance: 4.10 miles @ 15:33 per mile (still feeling some after affects of Sunday)
Calories: 117 deficit
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 84 deficit
Well – I finally got out for some exercise on Sunday. I headed up to Pacific Ridge Trailhead for Father’s Day. I guess it’s what a dad does when an empty nester.
I made good headway to my turnaround point at the Old Emerald Trail junction.
I got turned around and headed back when a few minutes later the lights actually started to dim! I started feeling nauseous, sweating profusely, and started seeing stars. I took a few steps off the trail, found a flat rock and had a good sit down. The only other time I had ever felt like this was a few years back when I tumbled off a rowing machine in full pass out mode. At that time, I had a full sugar Coke and recovered in a few minutes. Of course, this time I had no fuel - nothing other than a handheld with some water. All I could do was be patient. I still had two miles out to the car, and I was determined to not get there in the back of a ranger’s truck. Eventually the feeling passed, and I got back on the trail.
I took it easy up and down the undulating ridge top and made it back to the car, no worse for wear. Except of course for the bruised ego. Next weekend? Breakfast first!
Friday
Distance: 0
Calories: Took part of the day off
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: Broke my 30 day tracking streak
Sunday
Distance: 6.35 miles @ 15:44 per mile
Calories: Hey! It’s Father’s Day!
Sunday Weigh In: Flat (as in no gain or loss for the week). It’s what I earned for essentially taking the week off!
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 342 deficit (okay – back on the wagon)
So – it started out by oversleeping my alarm on Tuesday. No problem. I’ll just head out in the evening.
Tuesday evening – get home late. Be hungry. East dinner. It’s 8PM. Okay no problem. It’s just a missed day of running. When in training mode, a missed day is a missed day. No reason to make it up. Just like spilled milk can’t be put back in the bottle. No problem.
Wednesday – not a running day.
Thursday morning. Repeat of Tuesday morning. Tired. Thursday evening. Wife’s birthday. Family time. Spilled milk is still on the floor.
Friday morning. Trying to be careful not to drop the whole bottle. Yes indeed – what a slippery slope.
Tuesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 171 deficit
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 17 deficit
Thursday
Distance 0
Calories: Tres leches cake was good. Put the calorie counter away for a day.
Sorry about the cryptic last posting. It was a busy weekend, and I didn’t have time to post the week’s results, but you all have done such a good job of keeping me accountable, I didn’t want to get out of the habit of posting weekly results.
So – on Sunday I took a little departure from the past few weeks and headed over to a different place to get in 5 or so trail miles:
This is an interesting place to run. Multi-million dollar homes are perched on the ridgetops of the canyon, and Pelican Hill Resort’s golf course provides the runoff that keeps water flowing in the canyon.
About 1.2 miles in, there’s an opportunity to make a 500’ elevation gain in 1/2 a mile up and out of the canyon.
The views are pretty spectacular from up top along San Joaquin Hills Road.
About a mile or so later along the ridge, you can re-enter the canyon.
Then, about two and a half miles along the canyon bottom puts you back at the car.
Now for the rest of the story…
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: 185 deficit
Sunday
Distance: 5.16 miles @ 15:31 per mile
Calories: 540 deficit
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: 73 over (burrrpp!)
Sorry folks – I am running a little behind this week. All the sordid details tomorrow. For now:
Weigh in: Down 1 lb. Total of 5 lbs in 4 weeks. The battleship is pointing in the right direction.
Up until now, I’ve been a three day a week wogger (part jog, mostly walk). And even though I’ve been back to blogging for three weeks now, I’ve actually been regularly exercising a couple additional weeks, which means it’s time to up the ante a little bit.
I’m currently in the 10 – 11 mile a week range. I’m doing two mornings a week (Tuesdays and Fridays seem to be working) and one weekend day (Sundays) that’s a little more extended (5 plus miles). The commitment is comfortable and the results seem to be reasonable.
So – that now that I’m comfortable, it’s probably time to do a little more. Whether that’s one more morning a week or extending miles on Sundays remains to be seen. Like a lot of things this time around, the decision will be a game time decision. Stay tuned.
Now for some results:
Monday
Distance: 0
Calories: Deficit of 10
Tuesday
Distance: 2.65 miles @ 14:57 per mile
Calories: Deficit of 57
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 54 over
Thursday
Distance: 0
Calories: 265 over
Friday
Distance: 2.65 miles @ 15:12 per mile
Calories: Deficit of 554 (was in bed asleep at 8:30 so no midnight snack)
Thanks for following!
Headed back into the Laguna Coast on Sunday. It was a pretty spectacular day.
It’s been a long time since I put in the kind of effort that I put in yesterday.
In fact, Sunday afternoon ended up being naptime!
Saturday
Distance: 0
Calories: 548 over
Sunday
Distance: 6.04 miles @ 15:33 pace
Calories: 188 over
Weigh in: Down another 1.5 pounds. 4 pounds total in 3 week.
Out the door at 5:30 AM today. Yeah, it’s just a boring wog around the neighborhood, but I’ll take it.
Wednesday
Distance: 0
Calories: 62 deficit
Thursday
Distance: 0
Calories: 263 deficit
Friday
Distance: 2.66 miles @ 15:04 pace
Calories: 113 deficit
So – it was my intent to get out early this morning to start week 3. But, I just couldn’t get out from under the covers. So – it’s 10:15PM and I just got in…
Tuesday
Distance: 2.66 mis @ 14:59 pace
Calories: 410 deficit
Oh – some of the wildlife seen on tonight’s run:
But before that, I took advantage of a *spectacular* Southern California spring day and headed into the hills.
If you haven’t lived in Southern California, we have this weather pattern that starts in May and continues through June. It’s known as May grey and June gloom. What happens is every morning, low clouds and fog blow in from the ocean to keep our mornings cool and dreary. Most days, this all blows away by midday. This morning was no exception:
By the time I made my turnaround point 2 1/2 miles later, the sun was making a valiant attempt to break through:
And by the time I got back to the car, the marine layer had burned off and exposed a perfect spring day:
Sunday:
Distance: 5.3 miles @ 15:47 pace
Calories: ??? (sorry – took the parents out to dinner).
Weekend Weigh in: Down a pound and a half this week; 2.5 total.
This accountability experiment is apparently working. I’m still around as we get close to the end of week 2.
Wednesday:
Distance: 0
Calories: 215 too many
Thursday:
Distance: 0
Calories: 332 too many
Friday:
Distance: 2.66 miles @ 15:15 pace
Calories: 292 deficit
I was going head out this morning, but I decided against it. A few weeks ago I was pushing a bit much and ended up with a mean shin splint that took two weeks to resolve. Despite the current low mileage, my knees and legs were feeling “off” this morning. Now that I have a little head of steam going, last thing I want to do is to have a setback. I guess the older I get the wiser I’m becoming.
Tomorrow morning I’ll be revisiting the hills.
There’s something about getting an early start in the morning. I live about a mile from the ocean, so the air is cool and heavy with moisture. There is a palpable quiet.
Who am I kidding?!?! It is freaking early in the morning!?!?! Who in their right mind would be up at 5AM, choke down a cup of coffee and be off for a wog before their bowels have had a chance to realize that it’s morning?
Monday:
Distance: 0 miles
Calories: 107 deficit
Tuesday:
Distance: 2.66 miles @ 15:16 pace
Calories: 228 deficit
Tomorrow is sleep in until 5:45. Yea!
Wrapped up the week with four miles on Sunday. Visited an old friend:
I guess this wasn’t a trail after all, which is a bit of a shame because the views from the top were spectacular:
Turnaround point looking down into Emerald Canyon. One of these days I’ll get back down here. The problem is the climb out:
Stats for the rest of the week:
Friday
Distance: 0 miles
Calories: 103 deficit
Saturday
Distance: 0 miles
Calories: 35 too many
Sunday
Distance: 4.16 miles @ 15:56 per mile
Calories: 425 deficit
Weekend Weigh in: Down one pound for the week. It’s a journey – not a race.
Wednesday:
No mileage.
Calories: 127 deficit
Thursday:
Distance: 2.65 mis
Pace: 16:00
Calories: 328 deficit
Three days down. So far so good, but that's because weigh in isn't until Sunday....
Day 1 in the books. Just for grins I’ll post some details:
Distance: 2.65 mis
Pace: 15:55/mi
Just a boring trek around the neighborhood:
But there is a hill or two:
Calories: 412 deficit
And so the journey begins.
All I did was float a post that I'm going to start posting again and some of my old regular readers came out of the woodwork to give their encouragement. Wow. I’m humbled.
So, let’s talk. For the last year I’ve been working (same job when I last blogged). And eating. And working. And eating. And playing poker. And eating. Do you see a pattern here? Do you see what I’m missing? Bottom line is I’m back to where I was before I started rowing, which was a couple years before I started running - which was a long time ago. Fitness? Zilch. Endurance? Zilch. Girth? El gordo.
In fact, my weight has me concerned. So, a few weeks back, I decided to start an exercise program. The program consists of walks around the neighborhood. That program was successful. For a week. Then came the excuses. “Man, I’m tired.” “Can’t go tonight, I have some work left to do.” Can you see a pattern?
I’m going to dust off the ol’ blog so that I can be accountable. I *think* that as long as someone is reading, I *might* be motivated. So – phooey on you guys who commented. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have a reason to put things off. 
I’ll be updating on a regular basis. Right now, I will be doing a boring walk around the neighborhood (2.6 miles, two days a week) and one longer walk in the hills on the weekend. Keep in mind – “longer” these days means 4 – 5 miles. I’m also tracking my calories. Believe me. I have more than 50 lbs to drop in the coming months. Yikes!
It's been almost a year since the last post here. I'm going to dust off the cobwebs and start posting again. I'm hoping that I'll help with my accountability problem. It seems it's always easier to veg out in front of my computer in the evening than it is to head out the door.
I've got a long way to go to get back into shape. Hopefully posting back in here will help. Stay tuned for more.
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