Successful Week

This was a great week! While swimming on Tuesday I was able to swim 1,000 yards during my 30 minute swim, beating my previous record of 925 yards. Better yet, I was able hit that distance again during my Thursday swim.

On Thursday evening I was able to break my 5K PR during my 4 mile training run. The best part is that I wasn't even trying to push myself to run fast (for me, those tend to be the best runs). My new PR was 33:35, which was 5 seconds faster then my previous PR. You can view the details of that run at the following link:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1097680388

The excitement didn't stop there. The 5K PR that I set on Thursday didn't last long as I destroyed it today with a time of 31:13! It wasn't the most beautiful day for a run as it ended up raining on me, but I was happy to find a chance to run along Big Creek for the first time this year. I was also able to set a new 1 mile PR with a time of 9:49. In fact, all 3 miles would have broken my previous record of 10:09. You can view the details of today's run at the following link:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1100012606

Guiding Principles - Surround Yourself with Support

I left this one for last because I think it is the most important part. The choice to start on this journey was mine, and mine alone. That being said, none of this would be possible without the love, support, and sacrifice of others. As a disclaimer, I will be listing some examples of the types of support that I have received along the way, but I'm sure that I will miss many examples and and people that have helped.

For starters, the biggest support for me is my wife. She loves me no matter how many miles I run or how many laps I swim, and to me, that is the most important part. When I have a bad day (or week, or month) of training or eating, she lets be vent and put it all in perspective. She is also living the journey with me. We try to eat well together, and when we can, we work out together. When we can't work out together, she helps greatly by working around my training schedule when possible. I can't even count the number of days that she walks in the door from work and I run out the door (literally). She encourages me, she pushes me, and she reminds me how well I am doing. It is safe to say that with out her, none of this would have happened or been possible.

I can safely divide people in my life into 3 separate groups. The first group of people just flat out do not care about what I am doing. I don't mean this in a bad way, they are actually indifferent. The second group of people try to drag me down by making negative comments or worse, trying to one up me in conversation. Maybe it is out of jealousy, or maybe they have some sort of prejudice against what I am doing, I don't really know and I really try not to care. Luckily for me, I do not have many of these people in my life. The third group of people are the best for me as they take a genuine interest in what I am doing and provide words of encouragement. Although I do enjoy hearing from people how good I look, or how proud of me they are, what really motivates me are when someone asks about what I am doing. I think it is safe to say that talking about my training, races, and goals is the biggest external motivator that I have. I think talking about it for me kind of works like writing a word over and over again to try to learn to spell it correctly. Each time I talk about it I get to realize how far I have come, and refocus on where I am headed.

The next group of people that help support me are those in my life who are runners (and now bicyclists and swimmers) that I can talk to about my training. Like so many things in life, I have learned that the only way to appreciate what training for a race entails is to actually do it. I have a co-worker that is a runner. Every time he runs a race, I get a text shortly afterwords about how he did and how he feels. I send him a text every time I reach a new milestone or set a new PR (personal record). My wife, and a couple of coworkers, were swimmers in middle school or high school, and I have gotten a lot of insight and encouragement from them. It works like a support group for me, like runners anonymous or swimmers anonymous.

The last type of support for I will talk about here are those people who help me out directly. A couple of years ago I did a 5K for Patrick's 30th Birthday. I set it up on Facebook and over 30 people ran or walked a 5K that week with me. If that wasn't support enough, my sister-in-law, Jessica, and her fiance, Ben, actually came over to my house and ran with me. Last fall, when I ran my first 2 half marathons, I had my own support team those days. For the Quad Cities Half Marathon, my mother-in-law, Mary, drove me to the race and met me throughout at a few locations. My brother-in-law, Mike, did the same for the Des Moines Half Marathon just 3 weeks later. My wife ran the 5 mile Turkey Trot with me on Thanksgiving Day in pouring rain.

Surrounding myself with the right people has been key in this process. Not every day is exciting as a race day and not every run, swim, or bike ride sets a new PR. On those days with 30 mph winds, rain, and cold, it is that support system that helps to keep me going.

New 5K Personal Record!

I'm a little late in posting this, but last Thursday I ran a new 5K PR. My time was 33:40 and was about 10 seconds faster then my previous PR. You can see details of my run by clicking the link below:



Garmin Connect

Guiding Principles - Evaluate Priorities

One of the most common excuses that I have used over the years to not get in shape is that I just didn't have the time. Looking back, that was extremely laughable. With 2 kids, a full time job and now a hunting property to take care of, I have never been busier. Even with my current schedule, I have been able to carve out plenty of time to train and exercise.

The key to finding the time is to evaluate the priorities that I place on the different parts of my life. I would be lying if I told you that I was able to accomplish everything that I have without giving up a single thing. Of course not everything is created equal, and some things are harder to move down in priority then others. Below is a list of ways that I have shifted priorities to allow time to train and improve myself.

• Instead of spending the time after my girls go to bed each night sitting in front of the TV, I try to spend most nights in the gym. Better yet, with the use of my Chromecast, I am still able to watch a lot of movies and shows while I work out
• I get out of bed about 20 minutes earlier then I used to each morning to take my dog, Hunter, on a walk.
• On the weekends (or other days at home), I often spend the time that the girls take a nap in the afternoon either out running or down in the gym
• I used to go out to lunch with coworkers several days each week. Instead, I have been heading to the pool to swim 2 days a week.
• One of the harder things that I have given up is the extra time that I used to spend with my daughters after work each day. Several days each week I leave the girls at daycare for my wife to pick up and I take advantage of that time to get a run or bike ride in. 
• I used to leave home on Friday night on weekends that I spend working at the cabin and return home late Sunday night. Over the past year, I have started to leave Saturday morning and return home earlier on Sunday. This gives me a chance to get my long training run in before I go on Saturday and to complete another workout on my return Sunday evening. 
• As a family, we try to schedule our weekend trips and other travel around my training schedule. At the same time, I have structured the schedule to aid in this by making Fridays a "rest day" (although I don't have a true rest day). I also try to find opportunities when we are away from home to fit in exercise. Last year I ran my first half marathon in the Quad Cities, where my in-laws live, and this year I am going to run the Bix 7 there. This allows for us to pair our visits to family with race weekends, meaning there is time for more of both

Of course these are just a few examples, but I have learned just how possible it is to fit in a couple of hours of exercise per day by just shifting some things around, finding lost time in the day, or making small sacrifices. 

Finally Got the Bike Out

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I would get my old (but not very used) mountain bike dusted off and fixed up so that when nice weather hit, I would be ready to start biking outside. I ordered a bike repair kit and got a couple of new tire tubes installed.

Bike all ready to go

Today was my first opportunity to hit the trails. It was my first time riding a bike in nearly 7 years and it was a blast. I biked a little over 11 miles in about 50 minutes and it was real work. I'm really looking to getting my road bike down here and all set up to see what I can really do. It was so much fun and I am looking forward to a summer full of biking, running, and swimming!

Guiding Principles - Long Term Over Short Term Goals

Both short and long term goals are important to me. In fact, without breaking my long term goals up into shorter term goals, I would have given up on all of this before I even started. Goal setting is a huge topic to discuss. In fact, I'm sure many people have written many books on the subject, so I won't go into too much depth here. From a simplistic stand point, I try to set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound).

One example of a short term goal that I shared in a previous blog post is that I want to weigh 246 lbs or less by May 7. So here is how it breaks down:

• The goal is specific to how much I weigh
• The goal is measurable by simply stepping on the scale
• The goal is attainable because it required losing an average of 2 lbs a week over the course of 12 weeks
• The goal is relevant as it fits into my focus of weight loss for the year
• The goal is time-bound because I need to meet it by May 7

So what does this all have to do with long vs. short term goals? Don't worry, I'm getting to that part. You see, the above example is what I consider a short term goal. By that, I mean that it is a building block to help me reach my larger goal of being able to train for and run my first marathon next year. For me, it is very important to keep that long term goal in mind at all times.

Throughout the past 2 years I have missed on several short term goals, but I never used that as an excuse to give up. Setting the goal to weigh 246 lbs by May 7 gives me something to focus on in the near future to help me stay motivated each day. However, if you remember, I wasn't able to reach my last short term goal of weighing 260 lbs by the end of February. Even though I missed that goal, my long term goal of running a marathon next year is still my focus and I have put myself back on track by setting new short term goals.

What are some short and long term goals that you have? Feel free to share in the comments section below. 

Guiding Principles - Habits Over Will Power

A habit, by definition, is an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. Our lives are filled with habits. Some of those habits are good habits like brushing teeth twice a day and looking both ways before crossing the street. Others can be not so good, like going out to eat for lunch every day, or spending hours in front of the TV.

The title of this post might be a bit misleading, because in my experience, it is necessary to exercise will power to form good habits. Often times, the bad habits that we form in life are due to convenience. Even though it is hard to break those habits, if you can stick with it for just a little while, it is possible to replace them with good habits. What I do know, from experience, is how difficult it is to rely on will power alone. Sure, for the first few days, or maybe even weeks, forcing yourself to go to the gym every day isn't so bad, but then burn out sets in and you just want to lay on the couch. Resisting the temptation to stop by the vending machine isn't so bad at first, but after awhile you are just "dying" of hunger and "need" that candy bar.

Below are a few examples of good habits that I have formed over time to help me along the way.

• Packing my breakfast and lunch for work instead of going to the cafeteria and out to eat every day
• Watching TV while working out in my basement gym instead of sitting in my recliner
• Keeping a calendar and planning out my weekly workouts and training routines
• Walking my dog, Hunter, every morning before work

The beauty of habits (especially good habits) is that they are hard to break. One good example of this was when my running season ended last year on Thanksgiving. I had decided ahead of time that I would decrease the number of days per week that I was running to 1 or 2 days at most and the distances down to just a couple of miles at a time. After 8 months of running 3 - 4 times per week it just didn't feel right and I was really missing the running. Of course, during that time my focus began to shift towards including other forms of exercise like swimming, biking, walking, and weight lifting. Those new exercises took a hit this week as I began running more again, but this time I expected that it would feel strange so I was ready for it. 

What is one habit that you can or have already formed to help improve your health?