Training Begins Today

Now that i have registered myself for more running and biking events than perhaps I should have, the training officially begins today.

I am now officially registered for the Seattle To Portland ride, Seattle Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon, Color Vibe 5k, and Beat the Bridge 8k.  All of this happens in a span of 2 months.  The good news is my girlfriend Christina is on board now for two of them.  

Plan at this point is to start back on the eating plan a little better.  Been a bit lax in that since getting back from Hawaii.  Also to start logging fitness and nutritional elements.

Biked into work this morning, biking home this evening followed by the first run in a long time.  Looking forward to it!

Training officially underway today.

The Dog Days of Summer

It’s certainly not summer, and the Seattle days are looking as gray as ever. However the suns rays are dancing around longer and longer, and the days are getting ever so slightly warmer.

With the Seattle summer comes a flood of people heading outside into the sun that we’ve been deprived of for too long.  The gray days become amazing sky’s of blue that extends to the sparkling water on the horizon, and everyone takes advantage.

So it goes without saying that I have a great amount of trips and activities that will suck up my time and keep me busy and active.  

New Puppy

First and foremost we have a new little puppy named Breezy.  She is a little bundle of joy that flops around and loves to play.  At just over three months old she is highly intelligent being a Border Collie mix which are largely recognized as the most intelligent breed of canine.

She is intended to be my companion.  A runner (eventually) and a hiking companion, she is going to go with me everywhere.  In the meantime she is keeping me busy with potty training and numerous other puppy basics.  

She is highly intelligent and has already learned so much in a week and a half.  It’s an extremely frustrating job at times, but it’s also enormously rewarding when you see her exhibiting the behaviors you are teaching.  She is also helping me in other ways, like being more active and that helps me to drop a few more pounds like I have been intending.

Back Under 200

Back in 2011 I was on the highest point of my weight loss and was down to about 187 lbs at the lowest.  After a bit of a rebound I was back up over 200 lbs again for the better part of a year while I took a break from the hardcore exercise routine.

Over the past month in preparation for the next item on the list I have been watching what I have been eating in conjunction with chasing after a new puppy and have been able to drop about 9 lbs.  Which puts me just under 200 and fulfills my goal of getting there before our trip to Hawaii!

Hawaii Vacation

It’s big trip time!  I wanted to go someplace I hadn’t been before, and I wanted to be bigger than just a trip to Las Vegas or something plain-jane like that.  A friend of mine from the Midwest is stationed in the military there, so a visit was in order.  We will be staying with her for the duration of the trip and have really no set agenda aside from the fact that I would like to see the Arizona memorial, and Pearl Harbor.

So starting next week we will be sunning it up for a week and half almost.  The trip also includes a short visit to San Diego on the way back which allows us a quick dinner and drinks with some friends.

So  excited for this trip!

Seattle Rock n’ Roll Marathon

Now onto the business end of it.  This year I have signed up once again for the Seattle Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon. I was originally planning to do the whole marathon, however due to the next item on the list I scaled that back just a bit.

This event is a lot of fun and there is so much to look at, bands, exhibits, cheers squads from local high school, random people it kills the time and the pain you may be in from running that far.  Really my only goal here is to finish better than last years time of 02:15:40,  Which was accomplished with very little to no proper training.  

This year I assure you will be different.  The Rock n’ Roll Marathon is on June 22nd, so if you have nothing better to do, come cheer me and all the other runners on.

Seattle To Portland

Business item number two and this years new en-devour is the Seattle to Portland bike ride put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club every year.   This is a 200 mile 2 day ride that obviously starts in Seattle, and ends in Portland.  

This one has me a little bit nervous only because it’s taking me a ltitle bit out of my comfort zone.  That though is a good thing, because that’s when you find out who you are and what your really made of.

Training starts immediately when I get back from Hawaii with a co-worker of mine.  I am excited and nervous to get started.

Shi Shi Beach

This year I am going to go back. I have wanted to for 3 years running since I last went and it just hasn’t worked out.  This year Breezy and I will make the return trip to enjoy the beauty of Shi Shi Beach and the Pacific coast.  

I am not really planning anything major aside from setting up camp on the beach, photography and lots of relaxation as we enjoy the sounds of the waves rolling in, crashing into the rocky outcroppings.  And of course searching the tide pools as the tide recedes.

Columbia River Valley

Finally, I am also actively planning a return trip to the Columbia River valley.  A plush green oasis for hikers with numerous canyons, waterfalls, and fantastic overlooks.  I have been once before for a short stint, however I have a list of places to hit for short day hikes and overnights.

Here again just some relaxation, photography and enjoying nature’s beauty.  

So that’s my summer as it’s already planned many months before it starts.  Excited for a busy summer, and I am sure much more will get thrown in.  

2013 looking to be an awesome year!

In case you missed it by other social media outlets, here is my year in review video for the year that was 2012.

New Years Resolutions - A Look Back

It’s resolution’s time of year again and although I am not a huge fan of it I do think it’s a good time to reflect on the year and think of what you did right, and what went wrong.  2012 in general was a great year for me and provided a lot more stability which was probably my number one goal for most of the year.  That continues, with the addition of a handful more.

Simplify Everything

The funny thing about this one is that I say simplify everything, and then I am going to go on and explain new rules or things I am going to get done.  Which by it’s very nature is making things more ridged and complicated.  But let’s ignore this fact for a moment.

The first and probably number one goal for myself this year is to simplify everything.  Generally speaking I try to live pretty simply already, however I think I can do better.  

What do I mean by living simple?  Well generally for me, that means a few things:

  1. Not being overcommitted financially or for time.
  2. Maintaining a very clean and organized home.
  3. Removing things that you no longer use.  (If you haven’t looked at it in 6 months, do you really need it?)

For me this is a way that I strive to live.  It eliminates clutter, stress, and for me just makes life flow much smoother.  There is really nothing to detract you from what you want to do day-to-day because you have freed yourself from cleaning, or financial stress or many other factors that may feel imposing.

In a nutshell, what this means to me empowering myself to be free to do things you want to do, rather than the things you have to do, by good planning and organization.

Stop Biting My Nails, Once and For All

Ugh.  This one has been on many New Years lists unfortunately.  It’s a tough nut to crack. Although I don’t really have any great insight as to how I am going to do this I am going to make my best effort with just sheer will power.  I am already well on my way and have caught myself doing it a number of times.

The issue becomes once they get long (which to me is very relative) and I can start to feel sharp edges.  This leads to me basically just rubbing the edge of my nail, which eventually makes me feel like I need to bite it.  So trying to kill off all those behaviors will be a challenge  but I am gonna do it!

Re-Focus on Weight Loss

Although this has been on my list every year for the past probably 5-6 years in some capacity I freely admit I have taken the past couple of years a little easy and intend to get back to my goals that I had set years ago.

That goal was originally to hit 190 lbs, which I did in early 2011.  Since then I have certainly regained some of that as I lost focus.  My new goal is not only to get back to that 190 mark, but surpass it and make it back to my high school football playing weight of 180 lbs.  Totally doable and it’s going to happen.

I have a lot of outlets now to focus that energy and to get the exercise needed.  Just to name a few I am looking forward to when it begins to warm up just a little bit include: 

  1. More hiking and backpacking
  2. Cycling (I bought a bike!)
  3. Train and ride in the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride.
  4. Back to pounding pavement
  5. Run again in the Seattle Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon.

So nothing to crazy, nothing over the top, just simple things that make life better and keep me more active.  If I can do that, it will be a happy 2013!

Oops

Today tucked away in a corner of Facebook messages I discovered a message by someone who was desperately trying to get a hold of me on behalf apparently of a former Australia’s Got Talent contestant.  I was informed that he was contacting me on behalf of someone who lost the account when it was hacked.  He went on to explain that his “coworker” who owns the account doesn’t have Facebook (but she’s a former TV star?) and couldn’t contact me themselves.  

The account in question is one that I had legitimately requested years ago.  It had become stale and no one was using it at that time.  Twitter had created a form that you could request a Twitter name when it became available.  A few months ago I got the email that I could register that Twitter name, and so I did.  

Months went by, and I wasn’t contact via my personal existing Twitter account, nor via the new Twitter account even.  Instead, he tried to contact me via my personal Web site.  Because that happened to be broken he contacted me via Facebook to inquire about getting his account back.

Oops.  Obviosuly I have been neglecting my poor domain over there.

The guy went on to tell me a handful of different stories that didn’t seem to add up or make any sense when they were all put together.  Like the fact that when I responded to him he now calls the Twitter account in question “his”, instead of his friends.  So I don’t think he will be getting my twitter username, however I did take the opportunity to clean up the contact form a bit and getting it back to working order.  Wonder how many requests i have missed over the past few months while that has been out of commission.

New Goal - Ride 200 Miles

Yeah!  That got your attention didn’t it.  I won’t be riding that all in one sitting, it will be two days of each riding 100 miles. Still seem crazy.  Maybe.

Over the past 5 years I have had a number of goals related to my health and fitness.  First it was to lose just 10 lbs, then an additional 20, then it was to get to 190 lbs.  All of these I completed.  So last year I made a goal to complete a half marathon which I also completed.

Seattle to Portland Ride 2013

I was struggling a bit to come up with a new goal as the next logical steps would be a full marathon, or Tough Mudder, or triathlon, or something to that effect and that’s not really what I am into or interested in.

I decided to go in another direction all together.  Next year I am going to jump on the bike and do the Seattle To Portland (STP) ride.  This is a big departure from the solid running routine that I had been doing which I am excited about.  A little shakeup to your routine is always good, and this give mes another workout tool to keep me motivated and interested.

So last night I went and got my new Trek 2.1 road bike.  I have already ridden it a handful of times and am already in love with the thing.  This is also going to become my commuter just in time for rainy season!  The plan is to train/commute all winter long as weather allows and then really ramp it up in the spring in time to get ride ready.

If that wasn’t cool enough already I also got hooked up with a terrific gym and an even better coach/trainer/friend Kamini at the Refit Komplex not far from my place.  I will have to write another post on all the awesome things she is doing there with health, fitness and nutrition all in on beautiful package.  Far too much to throw into this quick post.

Super excited to get this next phase of training started.  Bring back summer!  

Top